Meningitis Symptoms and Outbreak 2012: 23 States May be Infected with Deadly Fungal Meningitis; 5 Dead, Health Officials Say

Health officials are reporting that people in 23 states who received steroid injections between July and September may be contaminated with a deadly fungal meningitis.

Hundreds, or even thousands, may be at risk now, according to the Washington Post. Health officials are saying the outbreak, which started in the South, had made its way to 75 clinics in those states.

"Out of an abundance of caution, we advise all health care practitioners not to use any product" from the company, said Ilisa Bernstein, director of compliance for the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

The Centers for Disease Control says fungal meningitis occurs when the protective membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord are infected with a fungus  Fungal meningitis can develop after a fungus spreads through the bloodstream from somewhere else in the body, as a result of the fungus being introduced directly into the central nervous system, or by direct extension from an infected body site next to the central nervous system.

The article says the Food and Drug Administration is urging physicians not to use any products from the New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Mass., which supplied the methylprednisolone acetate. The clinic, and its website, has shut down and said its working to "identify the source of infection."

The article reports, so far, residents in Tennessee, Virgina, Maryland, Florida, North Carolina and Indiana have been infected. Five of them have died. All of them received the shots to treat back pain.

No one knows exactly how many total people received the shots, or if those who received the shots will get sick because it could take months to experience symptoms.

A clinic in Indiana gave more than 500 people shots from the suspected contaminated lots. Two clinics in Tennessee reported more than 900 patients received the shots.

States that received shipments of the recalled steroid are California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Texas and West Virginia.

Symptoms

The CDC lists symptoms of fungal meningitis as being similar to symptoms of other forms of meningitis."However they often appear more gradually and can be very mild at first.  In addition to typical meningitis symptoms, like headache, fever, nausea, and stiffness of the neck, people with fungal meningitis may also experience confusion, dizziness, and discomfort from bright lights. Patients might just have one or two of these symptoms, the CDC says. The center also adds that this form of meningitis is not contagious,"