More than 100 patients at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center may have been exposed to a superbug between October and January, according to a statement from the UCLA Health System.

The potentially lethal bacteria has infected at least seven of the exposed patients so far, the university said. The bacteria may have been a contributing factor in the deaths of two of the patients, according to the statement.

A superbug is a strain of bacteria that has become resistant to several kinds of antibiotic drugs.

UCLA Health System employees are currently in the process of notifying the patients who were exposed, according to the statement. The hospital distributed free home testing kits to patients that will be analyzed at UCLA.

An internal investigation found that a specialized scope used to diagnose and treat pancreatic, bile duct and gallbladder diseases may have transmitted the superbug carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, commonly known as CRE, between patients. The university said the scopes had been cleaned according to the instructions the manufacturer provided. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CRE can cause a variety of diseases, from pneumonia and urinary tract infections to serious bloodstream or wound infections. The symptoms vary depending on the disease.

Immediately after the investigation, employees removed the two scopes linked to the infection. UCLA is currently decontaminating the scopes using a method “that goes above and beyond” the manufacturer and national standards, according to the statement. UCLA said it notified the Los Angeles County Department of Health and the California Department of Public Health as soon as investigators discovered the bacteria.

Compiled by Yael Levin, Bruin senior staff.