UCLA reported Wednesday that seven of its patients were infected and nearly 179 more exposed to a deadly superbug that contaminated medical instruments at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.

It believes the deadly virus might also have been responsible for two deaths. The outbreak was discovered late January during tests on a patient.

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All the victims were exposed to antibiotic-resistant CRE or "Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae" during endoscopic procedures between October and January. UCLA said it said testing kits to the homes of patients that might have been infected, which it will analyze.

The bacteria can cause infections of the bladder or lungs, leading to fever and chills. CRE infections are difficult to treat because some varieties are resistant to most antibiotics. CRE can lead to the death in up to half of seriously infected patients, said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

CRE is a family of gram-negative bacteria nearly immune to the carbapenem class of antibiotics, which is the "drug of last resort" for these infections. Experts fear CRE is the new "superbug". CRE infections have been reported in every state except Idaho, Alaska and Maine, according to the CDC.

UCLA admitted the infections might have been spread through specialized endoscopes used during the diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic and bile-duct problems. These endoscopes are inserted into the patients' throats.

The endoscopes may have carried the bacteria despite their sterilized according to the manufacturer's specifications. UCLA said these devices have been removed, and decontamination procedures upgraded.

A similar CRE outbreak in Illinois in 2013 infected dozens of patients. As in UCLA, some cases in Illinois were linked to a tainted endoscope used at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital.