Health Officials Say Pain Clinics Not to Blame for Outbreak

A map from the Centers for Disease Control shows Tennessee with 29 of the 47 cases nationwide, as of Friday afternoon.

The number of Tennesseans infected with fungal meningitis continues to grow. The outbreak now stands at 29 in the state with three dead.

In the now-daily briefings from the state health department, commissioner John Dreyzehner absolved St. Thomas Hospital and other involved pain clinics of wrongdoing.

“Evidence indicates these clinics and clinicians had no way of knowing about the contamination at the time of the procedure. The evidence indicates this is a product issue. Let me emphasize that.”

A compounding pharmacy in Massachusetts has been shuttered for the time being. FDA officials believe its steroid injections – which were sent out to clinics in half the country – may be the source of the pathogen.

The outbreak has spread to at least six states, but Nashville still has the majority of cases nationwide.

Dreyzehner says a state website will be updated with infection numbers and deaths over the weekend.

“This is virtually a 24/7 operation. People have to sleep sometime, but the people in the health department who are involved with this investigation are working very hard.”

More than 900 people in Tennessee were potentially exposed. Health officials expect more meningitis cases will come to light. They say symptoms could be dormant for as long as a four weeks.

Here’s a link to the CDC website set up to follow the outbreak.