Yet another new case of fungal meningitis in Tennessee was reported on Sunday, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), bringing the total number of illnesses in the state to 53, with six deaths so far. The deadly fungal meningitis outbreak has been tied to steroid shots manufactured by the Massachusetts-based New England Compounding Center (NECC) and commonly used to treat back pain in patients young and old. Tennessee health officials have reported that the number of meningitis cases in the state increased by three from October 12 alone, with 205 cases and 15 deaths nationally leaving the United States in a state of panic. If you have suffered fungal meningitis related to a steroid injection in Tennessee, or if you believe you may have been exposed to the life-threatening disease, contact our meningitis outbreak attorneys at Michael D. Ponce & Associates today.
The compounding pharmacy responsible for manufacturing the methylprednisolone acetate steroid injection has issued a recall of the drug, which was distributed to 75 pain clinics in 23 states across the country. To date, meningitis cases have been reported in Tennessee, Illinois, Idaho, Florida, New Jersey, Maryland, Michigan, Indiana, Minnesota, Texas, Ohio, Virginia and North Carolina. The CDC has reported that as many as 14,000 people received steroid injections using medication that came from the compounding clinic, and exposure may have occurred as far back as May 21. Furthermore, the Tennessee Department of Health recently announced that there could be new cases of fungal meningitis linked to the tainted injections emerging through the beginning of November.
Tennessee officials have pinpointed the predominant pathogen in the steroid injection meningitis cases – a rare type of fungus called exserohilum. According to reports, most people can breathe the spores without any problems, but spores of the fungus somehow wound up in the NECC’s otherwise-sterile steroid injections. There could be a cure for the fungal meningitis outbreak, the CDC reports, but the treatment could last months and can be very toxic on the system. If you received a methylprednisolone acetate steroid injection in Tennessee that you believe may have been contaminated with the exserohilum fungus, or if you have already experienced symptoms of fungal meningitis, contact our qualified meningitis outbreak lawyers at Michael D. Ponce & Associates for a free initial consultation.
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