Contamination at a German factory that makes crucial machines used during open-heart surgery is the likely source of a global outbreak of deadly infections tied to the devices, the largest analysis to date shows.
Scientists using whole-genome sequencing matched the DNA fingerprints of samples taken from infected heart-surgery patients from several countries, including the U.S., to samples from the devices, called heater-cooler units, in multiple hospitals — and at the production site.
The study, published Wednesday in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal, concludes that heater-cooler devices made at the LivaNova PLC plant in Munich, Germany, were contaminated during production.
