So far, the outbreak, which has killed 23 people and sickened more than 300 in 17 states, has only been linked to the injectable steroid methylprednisolone acetate, which is administered for back and joint pain. In Ohio, 11 people have developed the infection.
The FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the fungal contamination in sealed doses of the steroid, as well as in NECC’s Framingham, Mass., facility.
But last week, the FDA asked physicians to follow up with patients who received any injectable drug prepared by NECC for signs of fungal infection, warning doctors that they couldn’t be sure that any medication prepared by the company was sterile.
The FDA is investigating whether two other medications — a second injectable steroid and a drug used to paralyze heart muscles during open heart surgery — might also be contaminated with fungus. The CDC is investigating reports of fungal joint infections in people who received the methylprednisolone acetate for joint pain the knee, shoulder or ankle.
In the Dayton and Greater Cincinnati regions, 16 facilities purchased medications from NECC. Statewide, 64 facilities, including four pain management clinics that purchased the recalled steroid, bought medications from NECC.
The last, which is more than 300 pages long, includes items purchased by more than 3,000 medical facilities nationwide.
Many of the medications aren’t injectable drugs and include antibiotics and narcotic painkillers, as well as more mundane items like acetaminophen and fluids administered to prevent dehydration.
Patients who have received an item on the list should remember that injectable drugs are of the most concern at this point, said Bill Wharton, spokesman for Public Health - Dayton & Montgomery County. If patients call their doctor or the facility where they received a medication on the FDA list, they should remember that it may take the staff some time to confirm what drug they received.
Fungal meningitis is very rare, and symptoms can be slow to develop. Symptoms include new or worsening headache, fever, stiff neck and neck pain.
See Thursday’s Dayton Daily News for more information as this story develops.
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