More patients show meningitis symptoms

[JRLeft]

Source: Associated Press

Health officials are working to contain an outbreak of a rare and deadly form of meningitis.

Four patients of Minnesota pain clinics that used a steroid linked to a fungal meningitis outbreak showed symptoms of the disease and were told to be tested, the group's CEO said Friday.

Marsha Thiel, the chief executive officer of Medical Advanced Pain Specialists, said the clinics are working with health authorities to track down about 700 patients who were given injections of the steroid for back or neck pain. MAPS has several locations in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and owns the Minnesota Surgery Center clinics, where the now-recalled product from a Massachusetts specialty pharmacy was also used.

"There's a massive effort to contact all the patients," Thiel said. She added, "If there's any question at all, they're being directed to go to their physician." Thiel said the Minnesota clinics received the steroid on July 3 and stopped using it Sept. 26. She said the clinics got two lots of the product, and used the first on 100 patients and the second on approximately 600.

"This just happened to be our supplier and we happened to get the lots that are in question," Thiel said.

The steroid has been linked to 35 cases of a rare type of fungal meningitis in six states. Five people have died.



Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/10/05/meningitis-symptoms-steroid/1615299/

[frazzled]

1. A friend of mine had that treatment, and I don't even want to bring it up

He went to an orthopedic surgeon to have his severe back pain analyzed (it was "spinal stenosis&quot , and they gave him a steroid injection, which helped a lot. He's now doing physical therapy.

The shipments are confirmed to have come to our state as well (Illinois). But I think he had this done in perhaps mid-August ... so I'm just going to assume he's past the point of risk. If he's not, I don't want to make him worry.

[DeSwiss]

2. K&R

[emikofierros025]

3. Not an Outbreak

I first the news here http://www.semphi.com/post/1349768889/rare-fungal-meningitis-outbreak-hits-9-states-in-the-us and disturbs me that it was not really an outbreak because it's not contagious and has it's limitation like only those who are injected would only have this but still this is very alarming that almost all countries are focusing on this issue.

[emikofierros025]

4. Updated News about Fungal Meningitis.

As of now there are 12 count of death and 121 detected.

Here is the link with the latest news about fungal meningitis
http://www.semphi.com/post/1349927913/us-meningitis-outbreak-worsens-risk-still-undetected