Heater-cooler devices blamed for global Mycobacterium chimaera outbreak

(Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America) A global outbreak of Mycobacterium chimaera, an invasive, slow-growing bacterium, is linked to heater-cooler devices used in cardiac surgery, according to a study published today in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. This study adds interim guidance to recent field reports on the outbreak, providing precautionary recommendations to hospitals and health systems to reduce the...