Meningitis At St. Thomas May Stem From Outside State

The Centers for Disease Control and Tennessee health officials are investigating a cluster of cases of fungal meningitis, two of which have been fatal. The people affected were all given steroid injections for back pain; eleven were at St. Thomas Outpatient Neurosurgery. Officials say a common factor may be tainted medical supplies, potentially affecting more than a dozen other states.

Officials are emphasizing this is not the type of meningitis that’s spread from person to person. More than 700 people who got back injections from St. Thomas Outpatient Neurosurgery have been warned to watch for symptoms like fever, numbness and slurred speech. The center has been shut down until an exact cause is known.

State Health Commissioner John Dreyzehner says the origin may reach further. A similar case recently showed up in another state, prompting the CDC to investigate.

“To use a law-enforcement analogy, there are people of interest – we have materials of interest. We have theories and hypotheses. But we don’t yet have a firm suspect. So we have to be careful.”

Dreyzehner says this type of meningitis is exceedingly rare in people with working immune systems. He says that’s part of what first prompted an “astute clinician” to look for a pattern. Dreyzehner says experts are now discussing how those affected may be treated.

“Sentinel Site” – 5:40 p.m. Monday

Dreyzehner says St. Thomas may have been a “sentinel site,” a kind of first sign of a wider problem – possibly tainted medical supplies.

“I will hasten to add that the materials of concern have been voluntarily recalled by the entity that produced them. The FDA is working very closely with us in an ongoing fashion along with the CDC to make sure that people are not exposed to materials that may be contaminated.”

Dreyzehner says contamination can occur anywhere from gloves to needles to the medicine itself, meaning it’s too soon to point to a sure culprit. An official with the Centers for Disease Control says its investigation isn’t ruling anything out.