Thursday, October 11, 2012

Meningitis - The Concerns Are Heightened

You go to your doctors office with complaints of back pain and you are given an injection to alleviate the pain nothing alarming about that except shortly after, there is major breaking news of an outbreak which may have included several deaths. This is the big news of our day and there seems to be a number of cases reported throughout many states. Needless to say, the concerns are heightened.

Although the onset of symptoms is typically 1 to 4 weeks following injection, there are also reports of shorter and longer periods of time between injection and onset of symptoms. It is very important to contact your physician if you have any concerns.

As of October 10, 2012, CDC’s fungal disease laboratory has confirmed the presence of the fungus Exserohilum in 10 people with meningitis and the fungus Aspergillus in one person with meningitis.

According to the Center of Disease Control who is currently investigating the recent outbreak,the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are coordinating a multistate investigation of meningitis among patients who received epidural steroid injections (medication injected into the spine). In several patients, the meningitis was found to be caused by a fungus that is common in the environment but rarely causes meningitis. This form of meningitis is not contagious. The source of the fungus has not yet been identified, and the cause of infections in the other patients is still being assessed.





If you have received any medication from one of the NECC products recalled on September 26 you should contact your physician.