Culture of Secrecy Shields Hospitals With Outbreaks of Drug-Resistant Infections

The lack of transparency puts patients at risk, some say. Institutions say disclosure could scare some people away from seeking needed medical care.

The C.D.C. made a public announcement when an antibiotic-resistant form of the rod-shaped Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria sickened several American travelers to Tijuana, Mexico. But it does not reveal which hospitals in the United States are battling infectious outbreaks.CreditJanice Haney Carr/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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The C.D.C. made a public announcement when an antibiotic-resistant form of the rod-shaped Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria sickened several American travelers to Tijuana, Mexico. But it does not reveal which hospitals in the United States are battling infectious outbreaks.CreditCreditJanice Haney Carr/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention