The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed three cases of nontuberculous mycobacterial infections caused by Mycobacterium chimaera in people with a history of open-heart surgery, it announced Wednesday. There is also one suspected case of NTM infection.
M. chimaera are slow-growing mycobacteria often found in soil or water, according to the CDC. In the environment, it rarely makes anyone sick. However, patients exposed to it while undergoing open-heart surgery may develop symptoms of the infection.
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Heater-cooler devices are used during bypass procedures. A specific brand of heater-cooler device, Stöckert 3T made by LivaNova, has been blamed for aerosolizing the bacteria, leading to infections.
Of the more than 250,000 heart bypass procedures using heater-cooler devices performed in the United States every year, around 60 percent used the devices linked to the infections. Numerous healthcare organizations across the United States have been warning open-heart surgery patients about the infection risk. For instance, in January, both Charleston-based Medical University of South Carolina Health and Spartanburg (S.C.) Regional Healthcare System notified patients of the infection risk.
LA County's public health department has been working with hospitals that have identified cases to increase surveillance and implement control measures. The public health department did not report which hospitals it was working with.