Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), has sent a letter to Congress imploring them to hold a Congressional hearing to investigate the endoscopes tied to outbreaks of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae and other antibiotic-resistant bacteria infections.
According to Reuters, Rep. Lieu wrote that CRE outbreaks pose "health and national security" risks. He wants a hearing about what the Food and Drug Administration is doing to prevent additional CRE infections caused by improperly cleaned scopes.
Duodenoscopes, a specific type of endoscope used during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography procedures, have been tied to CRE infections at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, which led to two patient deaths. Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle has also had issues with the scopes.