This is Michael Brady Lynch, lead trial attorney for The Michael Brady Lynch Firm.
Consumer Alert! Meningitis Outbreak Linked to Steroid Injections:
Health officials reported eight deaths and 105 cases of fungal meningitis stemming from compounded versions of a steroid injection used largely to treat back pain. They estimated that as many as 13,000 people in 23 U.S. states may have been exposed to the drugs.
A little background on meningitis: Meningitis is inflammation of the membranes, called meninges, around the brain and spinal cord. It is most commonly caused by an infection, usually by bacteria or virus, but can be caused by parasites, cancer, lupus, and pathogens including fungi. The only reliable diagnostic test requires a lumbar puncture – or spinal tap – in which cerebrospinal fluid is drawn into a long needle. The fluid is examined in a lab for white blood cells called eosinophils, which attack fungal infections. Health officials are not recommending lumbar puncture for patients who were injected with the potentially contaminated steroid unless they show signs of infections.
The source of the tainted drugs, the New England Compounding Center Inc in Framingham, Mass., is one of the thousands of pharmacies that repackage or recombine medications on a sizable scale, sometimes for off-label use by thousands of patients.
So far, 105 cases of the rare form of meningitis have been confirmed in nine states. In hardest hit Tennessee another person has died, bringing the national death toll to eight, the CDC and Tennessee state authorities reported. However, as many as 23 states may have received shipments of the tainted product. These states include: 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. A total of 75 facilities may have received product from one of these three recalled lots.
If you or a loved one recently had a steroid injection and are experiencing symptoms such as headache, fever, nausea, stiffness of the neck, confusion, dizziness, and/or discomfort from bright lights, consult your doctor immediately. If you or a loved one has contracted meningitis, please contact The Michael Brady Lynch Firm for a free, confidential evaluation of your case.
About the Firm: The Michael Brady Lynch Firm is a trial firm with a focus on pharmaceutical mass tort cases involving SSRI and Anti-Seizure Medication Birth Defects such as Lexapro, Zoloft, Effexor, Prozac, Celexa, Paxil, Depakote and Topamax, as well as Pradaxa Internal Bleeding, GranuFlo and NaturaLyte dialysis injury, Actos Bladder Cancer, Fosamax Femur Fractures, and medical device cases including DePuy Hip and Trans-Vaginal Mesh cases. Contact us today if you or someone you know has experienced side effects involving these products.