Sydney Chambers

Staff Writer

Photo courtesy cdc.gov

  Many are worried about the recent outbreak of meningitis, a fatal disease that has affected over 300 people in the United States this year in 18 of the states, and has took the lives of 24 citizens.  The reason for the outbreak is because of 13,000 tainted shots given.  The tainted shots were a form of methylprednisolone acetate, which is a steroid product given to those with back pains.  The fungus that was in the shots were Exserohilum rostratum.  They were produced by New England Compounding Center.  A criminal investigation has begun to take place at their facilities, and has revealed that the facility was violating its state license by producing drugs for broad uses, rather than for just refilling individual prescriptions.  The inspectors also claimed to have found dirty floor mats, a leaky boiler, inadequate sterilization of medications and improper testing of laboratory equipment.

    As shown by the image above, the number of fungal meningitis cases are literally surrounding Kentucky.  So how will we deal with this fatal disease?  Let’s start by talking by what is fungal meningitis.

    To start, fungal meningitis is not contagious.  Fungal meningitis is a rare disease that is caused by the spread of a fungus from the blood stream to the spinal cord.  Risk factors of fungal meningitis include the ingestion of certain medications, surgical procedures, and certain diseases because your immune system will be weakened and make you more likely to contract the disease.  Living in some parts of the US, such as the Midwestern and southern states, may put you more at risk for fungal meningitis.  Signs of fungal meningitis can include: fever, headache, stiff neck, nausea, vomiting, confusion, and light sensitivity.  If gone untreated, you can die.

    Thankfully, however, this form of fungal meningitis will not affect Kentucky.  This is because 23 states ordered the infected steroid, and Kentucky did not.  So unless you or a friend receive medical treatment for back pain in another state you should not be worried.  Below is a map of the states that have facilities of the tainted drug.  A list of facilities that have ordered the drug is listed on http://www.cdc.gov