Several years ago, multiple infectious outbreaks related to duodenoscopes used for endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) were reported in medical journals and the news media. These drew significant attention to the issue of contaminated duodenoscopes, and endoscopes in general, and led to a variety of innovations in patient screening, endoscope reprocessing, and scope design. However, infections related to endoscopes are not a new phenomenon.1 In the 1970s and 80s, there were nearly 50 reports of Salmonella spp. infections linked to endoscopes.2 Over 200 cases of Pseudomonas infection (in straight-viewing devices and duodenoscopes) and several cases of Hepatitis B virus cross-infection were also reported during and after this time.
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