Breaking News on the Fungal Meningitis Outbreak

Today another life was claimed by the fungal meningitis outbreak.  The 20th death was reported out out of Michigan,  which also reported additional cases of meningitis in the state.

New York state has also reported it’s first case of meningitis and also a case of peripheral joint infection.

Here is an exert from the fungal meningitis article we posted yesterday:

The fungal meningitis outbreak is due to tainted epidural steroid injections manufactured at The New England Compounding Center (NECC) in Framingham, Massachusetts.  The tainted injections have been linked to 267 cases of meningitis and 19 deaths thus far.

The steroid injections were shipped to 23 states and were used via epidural as medication for back and joint pain.  The states to receive the steroids include California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.

The New England Compounding Center has recalled all the products and put a stop to all its operations.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention are conducting investigations regarding the fungal meningitis outbreak.

Meningitis affects the membranous lining of the spinal cord and brain.  Symptoms of meningitis include: fever headache, nausea, dizziness, stiff neck, weakness or numbness, sensitivity to light, redness or swelling at the injection  site and slurred speech.  Fungal meningitis can be diagnosed through a spinal tab, which draws spinal fluid in order to find signs of the disease.  Fungal meningitis, unlike bacterial meningitis, is not transmitted person to person.