AKIPRESS.COM - A large Los Angeles teaching hospital has told scores of patients they may have been exposed to a drug-resistant bacterial "superbug" during endoscopy procedures that infected seven patients and contributed to two deaths.

More than 170 patients who may have been infected by the carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, or CRE, are being offered home testing kits that would be analyzed by the University of California at Los Angeles hospital system, UCLA officials said, reports Reuters.

The possible exposures occurred at the UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center between Oct. 3 and Jan. 28 during procedures in which a specialized endoscope is inserted down the throat to diagnose and treat pancreatic and bile duct diseases.

The UCLA hospital system said an internal investigation determined in late January that CRE may have been transmitted to patients by two of seven scopes being used by the center, all made by Olympus Medical Systems Group. (7733.T)

It said 179 people may have been exposed, seven of whom were confirmed to have infections, and two of whom died. The circumstances of the deaths have not been disclosed, nor have details on the conditions of the five other infected patients.

"It's important to emphasize: This particular outbreak of CRE is not a threat to the health of the public in Los Angeles County," said Benjamin Schwartz, deputy chief of the acute communicable disease control program at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

He told a news conference that the five surviving infected patients were being treated with antibiotics.

Zachary Rubin, an associate clinical professor and medical director at the center, told reporters: "Our hearts go out to the people who were involved and to the patients who passed away as a result of this infection."

Hospitals across the United States have reported exposures from the same type of medical equipment in recent years, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has said it was working with other government agencies and scope manufacturers to minimize risks to patients.