The recent Meningitis outbreak has been an ongoing issue over the past week and a half. Seven more people have been diagnosed and the death toll from the outbreak has reached 15. New cases have been confirmed in New Hampshire, Florida, Indiana, and Tennessee. Click “more” below for more information!
Tennessee has been hit the hardest with 53 cases of meningitis and six deaths. Michigan has 41 cases and three deaths, and Virginia has had 34 cases and one death.
Now a a major health scandal, the outbreak started after a company based in Massachusetts shipped vials that may have been tainted to 23 states and 76 medical facilities.
NECC distributed thousands of vials of a contaminated steroid that has put 14,000 people at risk of contracting meningitis, according to government health officials.
Meningitis is an infection of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms include headache, fever and nausea. Fungal meningitis, unlike viral and bacterial meningitis, is not contagious.
The scare raised questions about how the pharmaceuticals industry operates. NECC engaged in a little-known practice called drug compounding that is not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, which generally oversees drug makers.
Source: Yahoo!
