By Val Brickates Kennedy, MarketWatch BOSTON (MarketWatch) Two more drugs have linked to a deadly outbreak of fungal meningitis around the country, the Centers for Disease Control reported Monday. The CDC said it has received reports that a patient with possible fungal meningitis, an infection of the protective membranes of the brain and spinal cord, was recently injected with the steroid drug triamcinolone acetonide. In addition, two transplant patients who received the medication cardioplegic solution have been diagnosed with fungal infections. All of three infections involve the fungus aspergillus. The agency said it is investigating whether the two drugs were manufactured by New England Compounding Center, or NECC, which has been implicated in the ongoing outbreak. The company recalled all of its products from the market on Oct. 6. Why do some some people explode at little annoying things and others don't, like dealing with customer-service people or someone who cuts in line at the grocery store? Elizabeth Bernstein and Weill Cornell psychology professor Stephen Josephson discuss. Photo: AP. Earlier this month, reports surfaced that patients injected with the steroid methylprednisolone acetate had developed a rare form of meningitis associated with fungus aspergillus. Investigators suspect the cases were caused by … Continue reading →

The New England Compounding Center recalled all its products earlier this month following an outbreak of fungal meningitis. STORY HIGHLIGHTS (CNN) -- More issues have been reported with drugs from a Massachusetts compounding pharmacy linked to a deadly multistate outbreak of fungal meningitis, federal officials said Monday. Fifteen people have died from the non-contagious meningitis associated with injections of a contaminated steroid produced by the New England Compounding Center. As part of the ongoing investigation into the center, a patient with possible meningitis has been identified who received injection of another NECC product, triamcinolone acetonide, the Food and Drug Administration said. And fungus infections from Aspergillis, one fungus linked to the meningitis outbreak, were reported in two transplant patients who received cardioplegic solution from NECC, the FDA said. Cardioplegic solution is used to induce paralysis of the heart during open-heart surgery. The other fungus linked to the meningitis outbreak is Exserohilum, which the CDC says may not be easily detectable. A patient with a negative fungal test is not in the clear, officials have said. The NECC on October 6 announced a recall of all its products. The FDA said Monday it has not confirmed the three infections were caused … Continue reading →

The New England Compounding Center recalled all its products earlier this month following an outbreak of fungal meningitis. STORY HIGHLIGHTS (CNN) -- More issues have been reported with drugs from a Massachusetts compounding pharmacy linked to a deadly multistate outbreak of fungal meningitis, federal officials said Monday. Fifteen people have died from the non-contagious meningitis associated with injections of a contaminated steroid produced by the New England Compounding Center. As part of the ongoing investigation into the center, a patient with possible meningitis has been identified who received injection of another NECC product, triamcinolone acetonide, the Food and Drug Administration said. And fungus infections from Aspergillis, one fungus linked to the meningitis outbreak, were reported in two transplant patients who received cardioplegic solution from NECC, the FDA said. Cardioplegic solution is used to induce paralysis of the heart during open-heart surgery. The other fungus linked to the meningitis outbreak is Exserohilum, which the CDC says may not be easily detectable. A patient with a negative fungal test is not in the clear, officials have said. The NECC on October 6 announced a recall of all its products. The FDA said Monday it has not confirmed the three infections were caused … Continue reading →

Health officials have now identified two more drugs that may be linked to the recent outbreak of fungal meningitis. All meningitis cases were previously tied to methylprednisolone acetate a steroid injection used as treatment for back pain. Two additional cases of fungal infections in people's joints were linked with the same drug. But now, one case of suspected meningitis has been linked to a drug called triamcinolone acetonide, another type of steroid injection, according to the Food and Drug Administration. Both drugs were made by the New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Mass. In addition, two patients undergoing organ transplants developed fungal infections after surgeries that used a NECC drug. The drug, called cardioplegic solution, is administered to paralyze the heart during surgery. It is not clear whether the fungal infections seen in these two patients were caused by the cardioplegic solution, or by something else, the FDA noted. So far, the outbreak has affected 214 people in 15 states, and caused five deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Patients who received any injectable drug made by NECC including drugs used in eye surgery or who received cardioplegic solution should be alerted about their potential risk … Continue reading →

CHICAGO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two other drugs made by the Massachusetts pharmacy at the center of a deadly meningitis outbreak may be linked to the disease, U.S. health regulators said on Monday, potentially widening the scope of the health crisis. The Food and Drug Administration said it was looking into reports of a patient with possible meningitis who received an injection of a different steroid than the one found to have caused 15 deaths. It also said two transplant patients were infected with the rare fungus linked to the meningitis outbreak after receiving a heart drug also made by the New England Compounding Center (NECC) of Framingham, Massachusetts. Nine more people have been diagnosed with fungal meningitis linked to possibly tainted vials of the injected steroid methylprednisolone, bringing the number of cases to 212, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A Tennessee woman among these cases filed a lawsuit on Monday against NECC seeking $15 million in damages. The patient identified by the FDA as potentially having meningitis received an injection for pain of the steroid triamcinolone, also supplied by NECC. The FDA said its investigation of that patient and the two who received the … Continue reading →