Seven dead from meningitis outbreak... amid fears THOUSANDS at risk across 23 states
- Two more deaths have been reported in Michigan, bringing the total death toll to seven
- 64 people have been sickened in nine states - Tennessee, Virginia, Maryland, Florida, North Carolina, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio
- Massachusetts company who made product has shut down operations
PUBLISHED: 22:13 EST, 6 October 2012 | UPDATED: 08:24 EST, 7 October 2012
The death toll has risen to seven from a 'rapidly evolving outbreak' of rare fungal meningitis that has been linked to spinal steroid injections, sparking fear as new cases have been reported in nine U.S. states.
The potential scope of the meningitis outbreak, that has sickened 64 people, widened dramatically as health officials warned that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of patients who received steroid back injections in 23 states could be at risk.
The outbreak of the disease, known as aspergillus meningitis, is caused by a fungus found in a spinal steroid injections, a fairly common treatment used to relieve back pain, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration....
Beware: Health officials warned that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of patients who received steroid back injections in 23 states could be at risk (stock photo)
The caretaker: Diana Reed dedicated her life to helping underprivileged children before a routine medical procedure infected her with a rare fungal meningitis
Source: The outbreak of the deadly form of meningitis was traced to St Thomas Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee
The injectable steroids responsible for Reed's death were produced by New England Compounding Center, a specialized pharmacy in Framingham, Massachusetts. The company has shut down operations and said it is working with regulators to identify the source of the infection.
It is not clear how many patients received tainted injections, or even whether everyone who got one will get sick.
So far, 64 people in nine states - Tennessee, Virginia, Maryland, Florida, North Carolina, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio - have contracted fungal meningitis, and five have died, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In an alarming indication that the outbreak could get a lot bigger, Massachusetts health officials said the pharmacy involved, the New England Compounding Center of Framingham, has recalled three lots consisting of a total of 17,676 single-dose vials of the steroid, preservative-free methylprednisolone acetate.
No solicitors: Specialized pharmacy New England Compounding Center has hidden from the public as its steroids are linked to multiple deaths and critical infections
An unknown number of those vials reached 75 clinics and other facilities in 23 states between July and September, federal health officials said. Several hundred of the vials, maybe more, have been returned unused, one Massachusetts official said.
However many other vials were used. At one clinic in Evansville, Indiana, more than 500 patients got shots from the suspect lots, officials said. At two clinics in Tennessee, more than 900 patients received them.
The incubation period before symptoms appear is 28 days, and its almost certain more cases will be reported say health officials, who are now calling this a national health crisis.
STATE-BY-STATE BREAKDOWN
Tennessee: The initial outbreak site with a suspected 16 cases, two of whom are in critical condition. Three others have already died.
North Carolina: The second state to report infection with one case found at an unidentified clinic.
Florida: Only two cases have been reported but health officials fear more may come forward.
Virginia: One person has died from fungal meningitis and three more cases are still being treated.
Maryland: Seven medical clinics in Maryland pulled their stock of a questionable steroid after one person died and two more cases were reported.
Indiana: At least five people in Indiana are sick with fungal meningitis, with no fatalities yet reported
Michigan: There are at least eight confirmed cases of meningitis in Michigan, including two deaths
Minnesota: Fungal meningitis has been diagnosed in two women hospitalized in Minnesota
Ohio: Health officials reported Saturday of a 65-year-old man being treated for the meningitis after receiving the steroid
Unlike the more common viral and bacterial meningitis, fungal meningitis is not contagious. It is an inflammation of the brain and spinal cord.
Symptoms include a severe headache, nausea, fever, and dizziness.
The first patients identified in Tennessee experienced slurred speech, and difficulty walking and urinating.
The pharmacy voluntarily recalled three lots of the steroid Methylprednisolone Acetate on September 26 according to the FDA. The drug is primarily used to relieve back pain.
The drug was administered to patients in their late 40s to early 80s.
Tennessee's S. Thomas Hospital, ground zero for the outbreak with a suspected 15 cases as of Wednesday with two in critical condition, reported having 2,000 vials of the steroid in stock before the threat was discovered.
'Some are doing well and improving. Some are very ill - very, very seriously ill and may die,' Tennessee health official Dr. David Reagan said.
In Tennessee alone roughly 1,000 people were administered the steroid.
The link between the injections and the meningitis was discovered by Tennessee physician April Pettit, who found the initial cases were all people who'd recently received an epidural.
Officials are still investigating how the steroid ...
