Meningitis Outbreak Spreads Into Michigan

Two days ago I wrote about a meningitis outbreak sweeping the U.S. that has been linked to contaminated steroid pain injections. Now, that outbreak is hitting closer to home with recent reports of six Michigan meningitis cases, although no deaths have been reported in the state.

The type of meningitis that has affected 49 people across the country with five deaths, is not contagious. Instead, the meningitis has been linked to a type of mold commonly found on leaves that somehow contaminated steroid injection pain medications sent to clinics and hospitals. The state most affected so far was Tennessee, where one clinic received the largest shipment of the pain medication and administered it to hundreds of patients. The company responsible for the manufacture of the medication recently reported that it was working with the FDA to identify the exact origination of the problem and has also temporarily ceased operations.

Four clinics in Michigan received shipments from the pharmacy responsible for the manufacture of the medication, according to the Department of Community Health. The agency noted that the clinics are no longer using the medication since the recall, and the specific clinics include he Michigan Neurosurgical Institutes in Grand Blanc, Michigan Pain Specialists in Brighton, Neuromuscular and Rehabilitation in Traverse City and Southeast Michigan Surgical Hospital in Warren.