Thirty-eight of 44 cases of carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae have been linked to patients at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Ill., according to a Chicago Sun-Times report.
The infected patients all underwent an endoscopic procedure of the pancreas or bile ducts between January 2013 and September 2013, according to the report.
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In 28 of the patients who screened positive for the bacteria, the bacteria was only colonized, meaning it was living in the intestine but not causing an infection.
CRE was first reported in the U.S. in 2009, and there have been 96 cases of the bacteria reported since then. This is the largest outbreak ever in the U.S.
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