An outbreak of fungal meningitis allegedly caused by steroid medication has afflicted five states, taking the lives of four people and causing 26 to fall ill.
The CDC defines Meningitis as "a disease caused by the inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord known as the meninges. The inflammation is usually caused by an infection of the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord."
The source of the suspected steroid is a Massachusetts pharmacy that recalled the medication after learning about the outbreak. Health officials have not ruled out the antiseptic and anesthetic that was used during steroid injections for the outbreak, but the steroid itself is primarily implicated.
Tennessee health official Dr. David Reagan notes that some patients "are doing well and improving. Some are very ill -very very seriously ill and may die." Tennessee has seen eighteen cases of meningitis, while Maryland reports two, Virginia reports three, Florida reports two, and North Carolina reports one. Two people died from the illness in Tennessee, while Virginia and Maryland both lost one patient.
Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light, altered mental states, fever, headache, stiff neck, hallucinations, and personality changes. The CDC explains that fungal meningitis "often appears more gradually than other types of meningitis infections. Fungal meningitis is not contagious.
The CDC writes: health officials typically treat the illness with "long courses of high dose antifungal medications. This is usually given using an IV line and is done in the hospital. The length of treatment depends on the status of the immune system and the type of fungus that caused the infection."
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