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Laboratory technician Ruth Rutledge packages cerebrospinal fluid of the three confirmed meningitis cases in Minn., to send to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta for further testing, at the Minnesota Department of Health in St. Paul, Minn., on Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2012. The number of people sickened by a deadly meningitis outbreak has now reached 119 cases, including 11 deaths, according to the CDC. The states involved in the outbreak are Tennessee, Michigan, Virginia, Indiana, Florida, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey and Ohio. Officials have tied the outbreak of rare fungal meningitis to steroid shots for back pain. (AP Photo/Hannah Foslien) (October 22, 2012) |
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The number of fungal meningitis cases linked to injections of a recalled back pain medication has risen to 40 in Indiana.
The Indiana State Department of Health announced Monday that two new cases have been confirmed.
The number of deaths reported in Indiana has held steady at two.
The health department has released no details about the deaths or the clinics they're linked to. Six Indiana clinics received the tainted steroids.
Relatives of 89-year-old Pauline Burema of Cassopolis, Mich., have said they believe she contracted the disease after receiving an injection at the OSMC Outpatient Surgery Center in Elkhart. Burema died Oct. 10.
The tainted steroids have been traced to the New England Compounding Center of Framingham, Mass.
