More than 600 people received injections of a medication linked to a meningitis outbreak. But doctors with the Virginia Department of Health say all the patients from two area clinics have now been contacted.
The health department says only two facilities in Virginia, Insight Imaging in Roanoke and New River Valley Surgery Center in Christiansburg, used the medication in question. Insight has contacted about 600 affected patients. New River Valley Surgery Center has contacted "less than 30."
State epidemiologist David Trump reported two additional confirmed cases of fungal meningitis Friday. That brings the total confirmed cases in Virginia to six. Additional cases are still being evaluated.
There has been one suspected death from the illness, though state officials would not identify that person or where they died.
Trump said he expects the number of patients having meningitis symptoms to increase.
Lewis Gale has received a total of 46 patients at its emergency rooms that have shown one or more symptoms of meningitis who have also received steroid injections from the company linked to the outbreak. Eleven of those patients have been admitted to the hospital for observation and continued testing. LewisGale says one of those patients died in September.
Carilion Clinic has evaluated 35 patients. Of those it has admitted 11 patients to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital.
Five deaths have been attributed to the meningitis outbreak, which has affected people in seven states (Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, Indiana, and Michigan). According to the Centers for Disease Control, there are 47 confirmed meningitis cases.
Tennessee has seen the bulk of the outbreak, with 29 meningitis cases and three deaths. Doctors want to stress that this is not contagious but they are certainly not ruling out the chance of more cases developing.
The State Health Department as well as Carilion and LewisGale hospital held a joint news conference Friday afternoon.
For more information about the outbreak, click here.
