In what is fast becoming a problem of huge proportions for the specialty pharmacy New England Compounding Center (NECC), data released today by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention show that 119 Americans have been infected in 10 states, with 11 deaths now reported. The deadly outbreak is directly related to methylprednisolone acetate steroid injections prepared by the New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Massachusetts. The injections were sent to 76 facilities located in 23 states: 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, Virginia, Texas and West Virginia.
Anyone who has received an epidural steroid injection since May 21, 2012, should contact his or her physician about whether a potentially infected dosage was used. Symptoms of infection include: fever, light sensitivity, stiff neck, speech difficulty and/or increased pain and redness at the injection site. Contact your treating physician if you have any doubt or questions about contamination or infection. The attack or infection rate is reportedly only about 1% of those injected, but that is still too high, especially if you or a loved one are one of the infected.
For more information about the recall and fungal meningitis, visit: http://www.cdc.gov/HAI/outbreaks/meningitis.html
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