Steroid Injections Linked to Meningitis

Steroid Injections Linked to Meningitis Outbreak

Attention: Multistate Outbreak of Meningitis linked to Steriod Injections wherein hundreds of patients may have received injections of the steroid linked to the cases. The outbreak has sickened and wrongfully killed individuals across the United States.

"We believe there are hundreds of patients who have received the injection," said Dr. Lucy Wilson, chief of the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's center for surveillance, infection prevention and outbreak response, during a news briefing.

United States Health Officials urged doctors and hospitals not to use any products from New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Mass. Investigators this week found contamination in a sealed vial of the steroid at the company, according to FDA Officials.

Thousands and thousands of single-dose vials of the steroid, preservative-free methylprednisolone acetate are believed to be at the center of the contamination.

The recalled steroid had been shipped to facilities in 23 states since July.

The New England Company has shut down operations and said it is working with regulators to identify the source of the infection.

FDA Investigators said they are still trying to confirm the infection's source, but the one common theme in all the illnesses is that each patient had received this steroid medication.

Several medical facilities spent Thursday calling patients who received injections of the possibly tainted steroid. DHMH said seven clinics around the state received the drug. Physicians and hospitals have been told by DHMH to contact their patients who received the injection between July 30 and Sept. 28, and to dispose of the product.

The incubation period for fungal meningitis is between one and four weeks, Wilson said.

The type of fungal meningitis involved is not contagious.

Box Hill Surgery Center in Abingdon spent the past week working to provide information to patients, medical director Ritu Bhambhani said."I have been in practice a little over 11 years. I have yet to see a case of meningitis," Bhambhani said. "Since it came out in the news, we have had multiple patients call, and I am trying to address [their concerns]. We are making sure they are not downplaying any symptoms." She did not have a number for how many patients might be affected because she said the lists were still being compiled.

MEDICAL ALERT: Individuals experiencing fever, increasing headaches, neck stiffness, swelling or infection at the injection site, or stroke symptoms, should contact their doctor.

IF YOU OR A LOVED ONE HAVE BEEN INFECTED BY THIS STERIOD OR YOU OR A LOVED ONE ARE SUFFERING FROM MENINGITIS – CALL CARABIN SHAW LAW FIRM AT 800-862-1260.

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