The death toll has risen to seven from a 'rapidly evolving outbreak' of rare fungal meningitis that has been linked to spinal steroid injections, sparking fear as new cases have been reported in nine U.S. states.
The potential scope of the meningitis outbreak, that has sickened 64 people, widened dramatically as health officials warned that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of patients who received steroid back injections in 23 states could be at risk.
The outbreak of the disease, known as aspergillus meningitis, is caused by a fungus found in a spinal steroid injections, a fairly common treatment used to relieve back pain, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The latest fatalities were reported in Michigan on Saturday, though the Michigan Department of Community Health said they would not provide more information on the two deaths until after the weekend.
The fifth victim, Diana Reed, died on Wednesday afternoon at St Thomas Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, surrounded by family members.
The injectable steroids responsible for Reed's death were produced by New England Compounding Center, a specialized pharmacy in Framingham, Massachusetts. The company has shut down operations and said it is working with regulators to identify the source of the infection.
It is not clear how many patients received tainted injections, or even whether everyone who got one will get sick.
So far, 64 people in nine states - Tennessee, Virginia, Maryland, Florida, North Carolina, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio - have contracted fungal meningitis, and five have died, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In an alarming indication that the outbreak could get a lot bigger, Massachusetts health officials said the pharmacy involved, the New England Compounding Center of Framingham, has recalled three lots consisting of a total of 17,676 single-dose vials of the steroid, preservative-free methylprednisolone acetate.
