Some 281 patients who underwent certain endoscopic procedures at Hartford Hospital have been exposed to a drug-resistant form of E. coli over the past year, according to hospital officials.
Dr. Rocco Orlando, chief medical officer of Hartford HealthCare, said the bacteria was transmitted through a medical device called the endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. The scope is used to diagnose pancreatic and bile duct cancer.
Hospital officials said the strain is resistant to some forms of antibiotics but can be treated.
Orlando does not believe any patients have been infected. Everyone who has been exposed will be asked to come in for a screening and is encouraged to undergo treatment as a precaution.
"We want to assure you that while the process for cleaning our endoscopes was followed, due to the same design flaw we are seeing across the country, there is a section of the scope that is difficult to disinfect," hospital spokesperson Tina Varona said in a statement Wednesday.
According to hospital officials, the scopes in question are no longer being used and have been pulled from all facilities within the Hartford HealthCare system. The equipment is being replaced with an older version of the technology.
Officials emphasized that the strain of E. coli identified at Hartford Hospital is not the same as the "superbug" sickening patients in Los Angeles but appears to be transmitted by the same type of equipment.
