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A study of the patients who received injections of steroids contaminated with the fungus Exserohilum rostratum from the New England Compounding Center has found that some patients had fungal infections even though they did not experience a worsening of their symptoms and that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can help detect infection, especially among those individuals who received injections from highly contaminated lots. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-evolution-outbreak-complications-contaminated-steroid.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:16:35 EST news290884573 An innovative "hybrid" surveillance strategy—highlighted by close cooperation between public health officials and clinical partners—helped Virginia mount an efficient and effective response to the ongoing outbreak of fungal meningitis and other infections, according to a report in the July/August issue of Journal of Public Health Management and Practice . http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-virginia-hybrid-surveillance-strategy-aided.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 30 May 2013 15:23:36 EST news289146210 (HealthDay)—Since the start of last year's outbreak of fungal meningitis cases linked to tainted steroid injections, federal health officials have recommended three to six months of antifungal therapy to combat potentially fatal infections. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-relapsed-treatment-meningitis-tied-tainted.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 29 May 2013 18:50:01 EST news289069798 (AP)—Government health officials are investigating several health problems reported with potentially contaminated medications made by a Tennessee specialty pharmacy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-fda-infections-tied-tennessee-pharmacy.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 24 May 2013 14:46:09 EST news288625466 (AP)—A Massachusetts pharmacy has issued a voluntary recall of some sterile compounding products. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-mass-pharmacy-recalling-compounded-products.html Medications Mon, 25 Mar 2013 11:19:25 EST news283429158 A pair of commentaries to appear in an upcoming issue of the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy highlight a debate within the public health community surrounding Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations for treatment of exposed individuals during last year's fungal meningitis outbreak. Manuscripts of the commentaries were published ahead of print today on the journal's webpage. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-scientists-debate-cdc-meningitis-outbreak.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 05 Feb 2013 15:10:01 EST news279298626 (HealthDay)—With millions of Americans watching and waiting, the U.S. Supreme Court largely upheld the Obama Administration's health care reform legislation, making the survival of "Obamacare" this year's top health news story. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-survival-obamacare-tops-biggest-health.html Other Fri, 28 Dec 2012 14:29:04 EST news275927336 (AP)—The head of the Food and Drug Administration renewed her push for new rules to help police pharmacies like the one that triggered a deadly meningitis outbreak, even as members of Congress expressed little interest in cooperating with the agency. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-fda-chief-renews-specialty-pharmacy.html Health Wed, 19 Dec 2012 17:14:29 EST news275159663 (Medical Xpress)—An outbreak of fungal meningitis recently resulted in one of the worst public health disasters in recent U.S. history. Thirty-two people died and more than 400 became ill after the New England Compounding Center distributed contaminated vials of injectable steroids. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-two-faced-drugs-hidden-killers.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 11 Dec 2012 08:14:33 EST news274436057 (AP)—Tennessee health officials are once again alerting patients who received tainted steroid shots after finding that some have infections at the injection site that could lead to fungal meningitis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-health-fungal-infections.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 06 Dec 2012 16:06:44 EST news274032388 (AP)—A government watchdog group is calling on the Food and Drug Administration to re-inspect more than a dozen specialty pharmacies with prior records of violations, in light of a recent deadly outbreak tied to compounded drugs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-consumer-watchdog-fda-revisit-compounders.html Medications Thu, 29 Nov 2012 11:55:28 EST news273412521 (AP)—A Senate committee investigating a deadly outbreak of meningitis wants to know how regulators in all 50 states oversee specialty pharmacies like the one that triggered the illness. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-senate-pharmacy-boards-outbreak.html Health Mon, 19 Nov 2012 17:06:04 EST news272567153 (HealthDay)—Spinal steroid injections—the type involved in the current fungal meningitis outbreak in the United States—provide only short-term relief for sciatica-related leg and back pain, according to a new analysis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-steroid-shots-sciatica-benefits-analysis.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 13 Nov 2012 05:50:01 EST news272004526 A new article being published early online in Annals of Internal Medicine describes the diagnosis and treatment protocol established in a Roanoke, Va. hospital to care for dozens of patients presenting with suspected fungal meningitis related to contaminated epidural spinal injections. This unprecedented surge of patients seeking care for a rare central nervous system (CNS) infection required physicians to react quickly with little data to guide treatment decisions. The authors suggest that the data collected from these cases may fill information gaps and inform current and future therapy for fungal meningitis patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-early-clinical-fungal-meningitis-outbreak.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 12 Nov 2012 11:40:44 EST news271942837 (HealthDay)—Thirty-two people have now died and 438 have been sickened in the fungal meningitis outbreak linked to tainted steroid injections, U.S. health officials reported Friday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-steroid-meningitis-toll-dead-sickened-cdc.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Sat, 10 Nov 2012 06:30:01 EST news271749368 (HealthDay)—The first reports of serious fungal infections from tainted steroid injections for back pain came in September from Tennessee and quickly became a national health crisis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-steroid-meningitis-outbreak.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 07 Nov 2012 16:10:02 EST news271523217 An outbreak of fungal meningitis has been linked to steroid shots for back pain. The medication, made by a specialty pharmacy in Massachusetts, has been recalled. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-meningitis-outbreak-toll-cases-deaths.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 02 Nov 2012 14:58:55 EST news271087126 (HealthDay)—Ameridose, a Massachusetts-based manufacturer of sterile injectable products and oral syringes, is undergoing a voluntary recall of all unexpired products in circulation, according to an Oct. 31 news release issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-fda-ameridose-issues-voluntary-recall.html Medications Fri, 02 Nov 2012 12:23:58 EST news271077831 An outbreak of fungal meningitis has been linked to steroid shots for back pain. The medication, made by a specialty pharmacy in Massachusetts, has been recalled. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-meningitis-outbreak-toll-cases.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 01 Nov 2012 14:59:40 EST news271000768 (AP)—The black mold creeping into the spines of hundreds of Americans who got tainted shots for back pain marks uncharted medical territory. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-unprecedented-black-mold-meningitis.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 25 Oct 2012 16:40:14 EST news270399197 The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Wednesday that a 24th person had died of fungal meningitis after receiving contaminated steroid injections. The latest victim had received an injection to treat back pain in Indiana, according to reports. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-fungal-meningitis-deaths-cdc.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 25 Oct 2012 15:38:15 EST news270398288 As the number of fungal meningitis cases continues to rise, physicians across the country are faced with how best to provide the early treatment that can save lives. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-insight-fungal-meningitis.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 24 Oct 2012 01:46:12 EST news270261961 You get what you pay for. This maxim is proving true all over again when it comes to steroid injections used to alleviate back pain. Making safe and effective versions of such drugs involves manufacturing steps that aren't trivial. The cost of the medicine has to match the care that goes into creating it and the oversight required to ensure that the standards are maintained. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-heavy-price-cheaper-drugs.html Medications Tue, 23 Oct 2012 13:30:07 EST news270216953 The death toll in the United States from an unprecedented outbreak of fungal meningitis linked to a contaminated drug has climbed to 23 people, health officials said Saturday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-meningitis-death-toll-cdc.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Sat, 20 Oct 2012 17:23:52 EST news269972622 (AP)—Vilinda York lies in her Florida hospital bed, facing a dry-erase board that lists in green marker her name, her four doctors and a smiley face. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-meningitis-victims-uncertain-recovery.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Sat, 20 Oct 2012 14:44:15 EST news269963017 (AP)—Tennessee's chief medical officer says the rate of new infections from fungal meningitis appears to be declining in the state where it was first discovered. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-tenn-meningitis-peaked.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 19 Oct 2012 14:20:01 EST news269874071 In recent weeks, an out­break of fungal menin­gitis has infected more than 200 people and killed 15. The infec­tion was traced back to a steroidal injec­tion pre­pared at a com­pounding phar­macy based in Fram­ingham, Mass., and on Tuesday crim­inal inves­ti­ga­tors from the Food and Drug Admin­is­tra­tion were report­edly at the facility as part of the ongoing inves­ti­ga­tion. Northeastern University news office asked Jack Reynolds, dean of the School of Phar­macy, to explain the symp­toms of the rare dis­ease and to address the future reg­u­la­tion of com­pounding pharmacies. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-3qs-meningitis-outbreak.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 18 Oct 2012 07:00:01 EST news269761792 Fungal meningitis tied to a contaminated steroid has affected 205 people in a worsening outbreak of the infection that has killed 15 people in the United States, officials said Sunday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-meningitis-cases-climb-outbreak-worsens.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 15 Oct 2012 04:15:45 EST news269493333 The death toll from an unprecedented US meningitis outbreak tied to a tainted steroid jumped to 15 after another person died from a fungal form of the disease, health authorities said Saturday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-meningitis-outbreak-death-toll.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Sun, 14 Oct 2012 05:55:42 EST news269412935 US authorities have managed to contact most of the thousands of people exposed to the tainted drug blamed for a meningitis outbreak that has killed 14, but warned the number of infections could rise. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-meningitis-cases.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 12 Oct 2012 05:41:38 EST news269239290