News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – A public health investigation into an unusual fungal meningitis death in Tennessee quickly uncovered other related cases and expedited detection and treatment that probably saved lives, while drawing national attention to the problem, according to a report yesterday from some of the state officials who worked on the probe.

(CIDRAP News) – Fifteen more infections and one more death have been reported in a multistate fungal meningitis outbreak, according to federal health officials, and reports are starting to surface about serious complications in some patients.

(CIDRAP News) – Tests by federal health officials have detected bacterial contamination in two products from the Massachusetts compounding pharmacy linked to a multistate fungal meningitis outbreak caused by tainted steroid drugs, a finding that amplifies worries about the sterility of the company's products.

(CIDRAP News) – Nine more patients have been sickened in a multistate fungal meningitis outbreak linked to a Massachusetts company's tainted steroid injections, boosting the total so far to 386, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today.

(CIDRAP News) – The compounding pharmacy that produced tainted steroid injections implicated in a multistate fungal meningitis outbreak had problems maintaining the clean room where the drugs were processed, according to a federal report today that found, for example, greenish residue on the ceiling.

(CIDRAP News) – A federal panel today recommended that all pregnant women receive the tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (Tdap) vaccine during each pregnancy and that infants at increased risk receive four doses of a newly approved meningococcal combination vaccine.

(CIDRAP News) – Eleven more cases were reported in a multistate fungal meningitis outbreak linked to contaminated steroid injections, including the first patient from Georgia, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported today.