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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) (November 5, 2012) |
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana health officials say four people have now died from fungal meningitis linked to injections of a recalled back pain medication.
State Department of Health spokesman Ken Severson also said Monday Indiana now has 51 cases of the rare disease.
Officials didn't say where the fourth death occurred. Severson says officials can't discuss individual cases due to privacy laws.
Elkhart County's health officer has said three deaths are linked to the northern Indiana county but told WSBT on Monday the 4th death was not from Elkhart County.
The state health agency has said six Indiana clinics received the tainted steroids, including the OSMC Outpatient Surgery Center in Elkhart. The tainted medication also went to clinics in Columbus, Evansville, Fort Wayne, South Bend and Terre Haute.
The tainted steroids have been traced to the New England Compounding Center of Framingham, Mass.
