WARNING: Meningitis Outbreak Tied to Steroid Back Pain Injections – Five Dead, Thousands More Possibly Exposed

meningitis outbreakHundreds, and by some reports thousands, of people who thought they were receiving a reliable form of relief from their back pain are now facing the risk of a deadly disease: fungal meningitis.

If you have received a common steroid injection for back pain recently, from July through October, please follow this especially closely… and please SHARE THIS by clicking above and pass this on to any friends and family to whom this may pertain…

Thirty-five people in six states — Tennessee, Virginia, Maryland, Florida, North Carolina and Indiana — have contracted fungal meningitis from the shots; five have already died.

Thousands More May Still be at Risk from Contaminated Steroid Back Pain Injections

The steroid injections in question are preservative-free methylprednisolone acetate, made by the New England Compounding Center of Framingham, Massachusetts. Nearly 18,000 single-dose vials, from three lots, have already been recalled, indicating that many, many more people may have already been exposed.

The apparently fungus-contaminated steroids were sent to 75 clinics and other health care facilities in 23 states from July to September. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people have already received shots from these contaminated vials.

Fungal meningitis, while not contagious like other forms of the disease, is potentially fatal and causes severe headache, nausea, dizziness, fever and stroke-like symptoms (numbness, weakness) due to an inflammation of the lining of your brain and spinal cord. It is often caused by a common leaf mold; investigators found an unidentified fungus contaminating a sealed vial of the steroid at the New England Compounding Center.

Symptoms may be subtle at first and can take up to four weeks to emerge following the initial exposure, so experts are concerned that the outbreak is only beginning.

If you have received a steroid injection for back pain, contact your health care provider immediately to find out if it came from a contaminated lot.

While some are suggesting patients simply watch for meningitis symptoms and report to the ER immediately if they occur, others are urging patients to start anti-fungal therapy as soon as possible, even if symptoms have not yet developed.

Sources

CBS News October 4, 2012

Yahoo News October 4, 2012

NPR.org October 4, 2012

Filed Under: Back Pain
Written By:  Updated:
my avatar

Jesse Cannone, CFT, CPRS, MFT

Jesse is the co-founder and visionary CEO of The Healthy Back Institute®, the world-leading source of natural back pain solutions. His mission as a former back pain sufferer is to help others live pain free without surgery and pharmaceuticals.

Sign Up Now For LESS PAIN, MORE LIFE Our FREE E-Newsletter…

Kiss your pain goodbye when you sign up to receive our free, LIVE PAIN FREE email newsletter, which is always full of the latest and most powerful, pain relieving information from the world’s leading pain relief experts.



Sign Me Up!

We are 100% Anti-Spam Compliant



2 thoughts on “WARNING: Meningitis Outbreak Tied to Steroid Back Pain Injections – Five Dead, Thousands More Possibly Exposed”

  1. Florencia says:

    Yes! Finally something about how to get rid of acne.

  2. Jorge says:

    I believe that you are providing information of something that occurred over 3 years ago. I received a injection this morning from a reputable teaching university hospital in California. I was informed that this is not going to solve my pinched nerve but it will allow my to be able to strengthen my buddy with the help of a physical therapist.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.