States Struggle to Manage Meningitis Scare

Source

Nearly two-dozen states are watching for new cases of a rare kind of meningitis, caused by fungal contamination in injections for back pain. The outbreak apparently started when a Massachusetts compounding company sent out 17,000 doses of infected injections for back pain. Daniel Potter of member station WPLN reports five people have died and dozens of others are sick.

I hadn't heard of this, so I thought I'd share. Just be aware of the potential problem if you have to take injections for back pain.

It's sad to think all these people went in for relief of pain and ended up at risk for fungal meningitis

I'm glad that the fungal meningitis is thought not to be transmissible but it always ticks me off to hear of contamination causing people to die/become so sick. Just a very sad thing.

List of products made by them included in the recall. www.neccrx.com...


Their logo to look for on packaging.



The homepage on their site is a letter explaining the recall.
www.neccrx.com...

I've had 6 of those injections for a herniated disc, it's not fun.
They tell you that afterward you may experience a headache.
It feels like someone rammed a rod through your head.
I bet anyone who has had one recently is going to be stressing out for awhile thinking they might have it.

I received a cervical epidural in mid August from the VCU/MCV spine center in Richmond, Va. it was a prednisone injection. So far, I have not had symptoms. The incubation period for this type of meningitis is 4 weeks or more.
However, to err on the side of caution, I will contact my doctor tomorrow.

Thanks for posting this!
Pax

Originally posted by WildWorld
List of products made by them included in the recall. www.neccrx.com...


Their logo to look for on packaging.



The homepage on their site is a letter explaining the recall.
www.neccrx.com...

edit on 7-10-2012 by WildWorld because: (no reason given)

Wow. I don't get the steroids, I get sympathetic nerve blocks that have no steroids in them every one to two weeks, but even Bupivacaine (Which is the only medication used in my block by my doctor) is made by that company in the same concentrations my doctor uses. As is the Dexamethasone I get for nausea. I am so relieved the surgical center I go to does not use that pharmacy/company at all.

I heard on the news a while ago that the FDA is in the process of tracking down patients who were given this medicine. Also, the meningitis is not contagious, which is also good news.

why is nobody asking exactly WHY the F is there meningitis bacteria in a "thought to be sterile" vaccine produced in a lab facility?

Seriosly?

reply to post by WildWorld


Thank you! I just read a few minutes ago in our small town paper that it is in my community. I have a friend going in for surgery on Thursday. She doesn't read ATS, or even the paper, but the info you posted my have helped out several people. She is on her way to see her doctor with the recall info in hand.

reply to post by woodsmom


This is why I love ATS and the Internet....info sharing might just possibly save lives.

Wishing your friend luck, keep us informed.

The death toll continues to mount as a result of meningitis attributed to the fungal contamination of steroid drugs sourced from New England Compounding Center.
Quoting ABC News, “It's unclear how the fungus, called Exserohilum rostratum, landed in the sealed vials.”

What does a Compounding Center do? The NECC web site states,” It makes its own compounds, allowing practitioners to get compound medications that are no longer manufactured or are on constant back order due to shortages.”

Dr. Madeleine Biondolillo, director of the Mass. Bureau of Health Care Safety and Quality, said the company was meant to make up drugs only in response to a doctor's prescription for an individual patient.

FDA spokeswoman Dr. Deborah Autor, stated that
a 2006 warning letter to the company, charging it was acting more like a drug manufacturing firm than a compounding pharmacy, elicited assurances that patient safety was being protected and that applicable laws and regulations were being obeyed.

One function of the compounding center is to break down large quantities of drugs into smaller doses for use on individual patients.

My question is, what are the sources of the drugs entering the compounding center system?

It is well known that drug manufacturing has become an offshore industry. Numerous reports have come through the news recently of quality and drug strength being sometimes not well controlled. Tracking back discovered problems has proven difficult. People using online drug sources may be even more at risk for poor quality traceability.

I have not heard of any news organizations or government agencies questioning or reporting the sources of the raw bulk drugs used by the compounding center (NECC).

reply to post by smyleegrl


Thanks.
I am still waiting to hear back from her actually.