Big Pharma Meningitis Outbreak Continues, No End in Sight

Big Pharma Meningitis Outbreak Continues, No End in Sight







Lisa Garber
Activist Post

The meningitis outbreak
caused by contaminated steroids has killed 15 people and infected 231
as of Tuesday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. And the situation is not improving.

“We’re nowhere near the end of this problem,” says Vanderbilt University
Medical Center expert Dr. William Schaffner. “We will see more patients
reporting in ill and we’ll have to treat many more going forward.”

14,000 People at Risk

Earlier this month, the Food and Drug Administration found fungus in
sealed vials of a steroid manufactured by the New England Compounding
Center (NECC) based in Massachusetts. The spinal steroids are typically
used to relieve back pain, but the fungal contamination has caused
non-contagious fungal meningitis. The condition affects the protective
membranes around the brain and spinal cord, causing headache, fever,
nausea, stiffness of the neck, confusion, dizziness, and aversion to
light.

Of the 23 states that ordered medications from the compounding facility
in question, only 8 have not reported at least one case of fungal
meningitis. Authorities say that almost 14,000 people received
injections of the steroid and may develop the potentially deadly
condition.

Other Drugs Possibly Contaminated

To make matters worse, the FDA is investigating other
drugs that may have been contaminated at the facility. Two patients
administered different steroids than the one aforementioned have
reported possible fungal meningitis infection—one injected during open
heart surgery, and the other injected with triamcinolone, yet another
steroid.



FDA official Janet Woodcock reassures the public that “there’s a good
probability they are not linked,” but it isn't helping NECC’s
reputation. The facility is already being sued by numerous victims, and a
congressman is calling for an even deeper investigation.

NECC in Hot Water

NECC, like all compounding facilities, produces drugs based on a single
patient’s individual needs as described by a physician. Reuters
uncovered evidence, however, that NECC broke state law when they failed
to request individual patient prescriptions along with bulk orders from
physicians.

Massachusetts Democratic congressman Edward Markey referenced this
breach when he demanded for a probe of NECC, this time regarding
potentially addictive, “controlled” drugs.

“This is a matter that I believe requires further investigation by the
[Drug Enforcement Agency] to ensure that this facility, already believed
to have broken Massachusetts state law, has not also skirted federal
law related to controlled substances.”

If you have received a steroid injection and experience symptoms of
fungal meningitis, seek medical help immediately. Dr. Schaffner says the
symptoms are rarely mild and patients have a greater chance of survival
if treated early.

Source:-
http://www.activistpost.com/2012/10/big-pharma-meningitis-outbreak.html