According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; eight people have died, with another fatality reported in Tennessee, since the outbreak of fungal meningitis in nine U.S. states including Tennessee, Florida, North Carolina, Indiana, Michigan, Virginia, Maryland, Minnesota and Ohio.
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| Thousands could be at risk due to meningitis outbreak in U.S. as 8 dead, 105 affected Already: CDC |
The patients contracted the deadly fungal meningitis after being
injected in their spines with a preservative-free steroid called
methylprednisolone acetate that was contaminated by a fungus. The
steroid is used to treat pain and inflammation.
The latest death in the most affected state of Tennessee is the fourth in this state and 35 other cases have also been registered here while the total number of infected patients are more than 105. Alarmingly, the number of people with noncontagious form of fungal meningitis has grown by 64 percent since Friday.
US health officials on Monday said that 13,000 patients in 23 states,
including Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire, have been
injected with a potentially tainted steroid treatment, during May 21 and September 24, made by a
Framingham pharmacy and linked to a national outbreak of meningitis, according to figures provided by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“We know that 13,000 people received the injection,” said Jamila Jones, a
public affairs specialist for the CDC in Atlanta. “They received it
at facilities across the country. They are at risk.”
Tennessee has the highest amount of fungal meningitis with 35 cases and four deaths, followed by: 23 cases and one death in Virginia, 21 cases and two deaths in Michigan, 11 cases in Indiana, five cases and one death in Maryland, four cases in Florida, three cases in Minnesota, two cases in North Carolina and one case Ohio.
The New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Mass., said it was notifying its customers, but clinics, hospitals and healthcare providers that have any of the product should stop using it immediately, retain and secure it, and follow instructions contained in the notice.
The CDC had not received any reports of infection linked to other products from New England Compounding Center, but these products have also been recalled.
Compounding pharmacies create special formulations of medications to fit patients' healthcare needs and might change the dose or change the formulation of a medication from a solid to a liquid, the CDC said.
Tennessee has the highest amount of fungal meningitis with 35 cases and four deaths, followed by: 23 cases and one death in Virginia, 21 cases and two deaths in Michigan, 11 cases in Indiana, five cases and one death in Maryland, four cases in Florida, three cases in Minnesota, two cases in North Carolina and one case Ohio.
The New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Mass., said it was notifying its customers, but clinics, hospitals and healthcare providers that have any of the product should stop using it immediately, retain and secure it, and follow instructions contained in the notice.
The CDC had not received any reports of infection linked to other products from New England Compounding Center, but these products have also been recalled.
Compounding pharmacies create special formulations of medications to fit patients' healthcare needs and might change the dose or change the formulation of a medication from a solid to a liquid, the CDC said.
SOURCE:
The Wall Street Journal
ABC News
Report Tags:
CDC, Meningitis, Meningitis Outbreak, Fungal Meningitis, Food and Drug Administration, FDA, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
