The Los Angeles Post

CONGRESSMAN LIEU ASKS STATE DEPARTMENT TO INVESTIGATE OLYMPUS OVER “SUPERBUG” OUTBREAKS

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August 30, 2016 WASHINGTON – Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D | Los Angeles County) sent a letter to Secretary John Kerry urging the State Department to request that Japanese authorities investigate and prosecute Olympus for civil or criminal misconduct in their mishandling of antibiotic-resistant bacteria infections caused by their medical devices.

The letter reads:

“Reports indicate that Japanese device company Olympus Corp. knowingly failed to alert and warn American hospitals, doctors and patients about its defective medical scope, the duodenoscope. In doing so, Olympus deliberately endangered the lives of thousands of American patients undergoing procedures using its medical scope and killed scores of Americans.

Internal emails now reveal that Olympus executives in Japan purposely told U.S. executives to not issue warnings associated with its medical scope devices, leading to antibiotic-resistant “superbug” outbreaks, infections, and deaths in hospitals all across the country. Because this issue poses both health and national security risks–and because Americans have died as a result of Olympus’ actions–it is imperative that the State Department coordinate with the appropriate Japanese authorities to have them investigate and prosecute Olympus.”