Meningitis Outbreak Update

Tennessee's meningitis has likely peaked

By TRAVIS LOLLER
Associated Press

   NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Tennessee's chief medical officer says the rate of new infections from a deadly fungal meningitis outbreak appears to be declining in the state where it was first discovered.
   Dr. David Reagan said in an interview Thursday that not everyone who received the contaminated medicine that caused the infections will get sick.
   He said the most important factor determining who does get sick is how much fungus was contaminating the vial of medication they received, not their age or even how healthy they were. Tennessee's meningitis patients range in age from 23 to 91.
   Tennessee has 66 of the 271 patients sickened with meningitis or joint infections. Eight of the 21 who have died were in Tennessee.

Questions for Medicare in outbreak

By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR
Associated Press

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- Questions are being raised about Medicare in the meningitis outbreak that has rekindled doubts about the safety of the nation's drug supply.
   The health insurance program for seniors long ago flagged compounded drugs manufactured without Food and Drug Administration oversight as safety risks. The outbreak that has sickened more than 250 people nationally has been linked to an injectable steroid from a Massachusetts compounding pharmacy.
   In 2007, Medicare revoked coverage of compounded inhaler drugs for lung disease, citing safety reasons.
   But Medicare doesn't seem to have consistently used its power to deny payment, and critics say that enables the compounding industry to flourish.
   Sen. Charles Grassley says Medicare has some explaining to do. The Iowa Republican says every avenue for preventing another crisis must be explored.

FDA: Fungus in tainted steroids and patients match

By MIKE STOBBE
AP Medical Writer

   NEW YORK (AP) -- Health officials have confirmed that a fungus behind a meningitis outbreak has also been found in unopened vials of steroid medication.
   The Food and Drug Administration said the fungus was in one lot of vials made in August by the New England Compounding Center of Framingham, Mass.
   The specialty pharmacy has been at the center of a national investigation into more than 250 fungal meningitis cases, including at least 20 deaths.
   Health officials said this week that 40 of 42 patients were infected with a fungus called Exserohilum rostratum.

Meningitis victims face long, uncertain recovery

By TAMARA LUSH
Associated Press

   OCALA, Fla. (AP) -- Those sickened with fungal meningitis face a long and uncertain path as they try to recover.
   Many people have died days or even weeks after being hospitalized. Fungal meningitis -- which is not contagious -- is a tenacious disease that can be treated only with powerful drugs.
   Experts say that the drugs themselves can be dangerous if they're not carefully administered and monitored.
   One such patient is Vilinda York in Florida, who has been hospitalized since Sept. 27. She received three steroid shots at a Florida pain clinic and then suffered severe back pain and headaches. Doctors don't know when she might be able to go home.
   Still, she's hopeful that she can recover, saying God still has a plan for her.
Meningitis Outbreak Update

Posted: Saturday, October 20 2012, 01:14 PM CDT