Story highlights UCLA says 179 people may have been exposed

Carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae is better known as CRE

CDC says it can resist most antibiotics and kills about half the people it infects

(CNN) The deaths of two patients at a Los Angeles hospital are linked to the deadly bacteria CRE and more than 100 other patients may have been exposed to the drug-resistant superbug, a spokeswoman for the UCLA Health System said Wednesday.

Roxanne Yamaguchi Moster said in a written statement that seven patients at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center are known to have been infected by carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae, and CRE was a contributing factor in the death of two of them.

The hospital is contacting 179 other patients who had endoscopic procedures between October and January. The patients have been offered tests for the aggressive bacteria they can take at home.

Moster said two scopes were sterilized to the manufacturer's instructions.

"However, an internal investigation determined that CRE bacteria may have been transmitted during a procedure that uses this specialized scope to diagnose and treat pancreaticobiliary (disorders of the bile ducts, gall bladder or pancreas)," Moster said.

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