The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned Americans that an outbreak of meningitis that is primarily concentrated in the Northeastern United States has been tied to a tainted batch of steroids that were administered to patients via injection.
The contaminated medication was specifically sourced from New England Compounding Center (NECC), a pharmaceutical manufacturer located in Framingham, Massachusetts. The Food and Drug Administration has concerns over a failure on the part of officials responsible for ensuring drug safety to follow up when NECC had violated regulations in the past.
Although 23 people across the country have died as a result of the outbreak, there has currently only been one reported case of meningitis has been directly linked to the injections in New York. This case was not fatal to the patient.
Symptoms of the fungal meningitis associated with the contaminated steroids injections include stiffness in the neck, fever, headache, mental fuzziness and nausea. However, some medical professionals have noticed that patients are showing signs of meningitis due to a fear of contracting the illness. Anyone with symptoms related to fungal meningitis should seek medical attention immediately in order to determine whether the symptoms are truly related to the disease.
People with a compromised immune system are more likely to develop fungal meningitis after exposure to the disease than people who were healthy prior to exposure.
People who have loved ones who have been exposed to the fungal meningitis strain should be aware that this type of meningitis is not contagious. Only bacterial and viral strains are able to be transmitted from person to person.
Anyone who suspects that they may have been a victim of the contaminated steroids injections should contact Brown Chiari for legal counsel. Brown Chiari is a law firm in Buffalo providing services to individuals with personal injury claims. Meningitis is a serious illness, and the way in which people were infected with the disease warrants the assistance of a lawyer in Buffalo. The attorneys at Brown Chiari are already investigating the incident in order to better serve clients affected by contaminated medicine.
