Meningitis and Stroke Associated with Potentially Contaminated Product
[id: 358407]
The Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are coordinating a multi-state investigation of fungal meningitis among patients who received an epidural steroid injection. Several of these patients also suffered strokes that are believed to have resulted from their infection. As of October 4, 2012, five deaths have been reported. Fungal meningitis is not transmitted from person to person. These cases are associated with a potentially contaminated medication. Investigation into the exact source is ongoing; however, interim data show that all infected patients received injection with preservative-free methylprednisolone acetate (80mg/ml) prepared by New England Compounding Center, located in Framingham, MA. This particular medication was not distributed to Maine. * A full version of this advisory can be downloaded from the Maine CDC website as a Microsoft Word document (.doc) or Adobe PDF (.pdf) by clicking the hyperlink at the bottom of this message and looking under the Recent Health Advisories section of the page that loads.
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