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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/14/health/bacteria-thought-to-be-from-germany-infected-at-least-12-heart-patients-6-of-whom-died.html
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| Bacteria Said to Be From Germany Infected at Least 12 Patients; 6 Died | |
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| WASHINGTON — A device used during open-heart surgery that infected at least 12 patients at a Pennsylvania hospital last year was probably tainted at the plant in Germany where it was made, a federal investigation has found. | WASHINGTON — A device used during open-heart surgery that infected at least 12 patients at a Pennsylvania hospital last year was probably tainted at the plant in Germany where it was made, a federal investigation has found. |
| The device, called a heater-cooler machine, uses water to regulate the temperature of patients having heart surgery. The water does not come into contact with the patient, but bacteria can be transmitted through the air from the device’s exhaust vent. | The device, called a heater-cooler machine, uses water to regulate the temperature of patients having heart surgery. The water does not come into contact with the patient, but bacteria can be transmitted through the air from the device’s exhaust vent. |
| That seems to be what happened to 12 heart patients at a hospital in York last year. The heater-cooler machine was contaminated with Mycobacterium chimaera, bacteria that can be found in soil and water. Six patients died, though officials said it was not clear whether the infection was the primary cause. The infection was identified at other hospitals, too. | That seems to be what happened to 12 heart patients at a hospital in York last year. The heater-cooler machine was contaminated with Mycobacterium chimaera, bacteria that can be found in soil and water. Six patients died, though officials said it was not clear whether the infection was the primary cause. The infection was identified at other hospitals, too. |
| It was not clear at the time exactly how people had been infected. So disease sleuths from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Pennsylvania Health Department took samples from 11 patients and five devices from hospitals in Pennsylvania and Iowa, two of the states where clusters of infections had been identified. There were also infections in Europe. | It was not clear at the time exactly how people had been infected. So disease sleuths from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Pennsylvania Health Department took samples from 11 patients and five devices from hospitals in Pennsylvania and Iowa, two of the states where clusters of infections had been identified. There were also infections in Europe. |
| The investigators found that all of the samples had the same genetic fingerprint, a sure sign that the infections came from the same place, probably the plant in Germany. | The investigators found that all of the samples had the same genetic fingerprint, a sure sign that the infections came from the same place, probably the plant in Germany. |
| The highly specialized devices, called Sorin Stöckert 3Ts, are used in about 60 percent of the 250,000 heart bypass procedures that require such machines each year, and there are few alternatives. | The highly specialized devices, called Sorin Stöckert 3Ts, are used in about 60 percent of the 250,000 heart bypass procedures that require such machines each year, and there are few alternatives. |
| But Dr. Michael Bell, an expert at the C.D.C., said that the risk of infection from the device was very low — from about 1 in 100 to 1 in 1,000 in hospitals where at least one infection had been identified — and that the agency was recommending that medical staff and patients be aware of the problem, not stop using the devices. | But Dr. Michael Bell, an expert at the C.D.C., said that the risk of infection from the device was very low — from about 1 in 100 to 1 in 1,000 in hospitals where at least one infection had been identified — and that the agency was recommending that medical staff and patients be aware of the problem, not stop using the devices. |
| The bacteria are not usually harmful, but they can infect patients who are seriously ill or who have compromised immune systems, causing fever, weight loss, joint pain and energy loss. But the infection is slow, growing over months or years, and it can be treated if it is caught. | The bacteria are not usually harmful, but they can infect patients who are seriously ill or who have compromised immune systems, causing fever, weight loss, joint pain and energy loss. But the infection is slow, growing over months or years, and it can be treated if it is caught. |
| LivaNova, the London-based company that owns the German manufacturer, said it was “proactively and voluntarily contacting 3T heater-cooler users to inform them of the new information.” | LivaNova, the London-based company that owns the German manufacturer, said it was “proactively and voluntarily contacting 3T heater-cooler users to inform them of the new information.” |