The government is warning doctors and hospitals not to use any product from the specialty pharmacy that made the steroid suspected in a meningitis outbreak.
An official with the Food and Drug Administration said tests found contamination in a sealed vial of the steroid at the New England Compounding Center in Massachusetts. Tests are under way to determine if it is the same fungus blamed in the outbreak.
Federal officials on Thursday also updated the number of cases in the outbreak. Five people have died and 30 people in six states are ill. All received steroid shots for back pain.
Two people in Florida are being treated, according to the Florida Department of Health. They are an 87-year-old male and a 65-year-old female in Marion County.
The Florida DOH has asked health facilities that have treated patients with the steroid to contact those patients.
The pharmacy issued a recall last week and has shut down operations. The steroid was sent to 75 facilities in 23 states.
Symptoms of meningitis can range from mild to severe, and include the following:
- Headache, or worsening headache
- Fever
- Nausea
- Symptoms that mimic a stroke
For more information: http://newsroom.doh.state.fl.us/wp-content/uploads/newsroom/2011/08/10412meningitis.pdf
