UPDATE: Meningitis Outbreak in TN Now Up to 6-Deaths

Oct 09, 2012 at 02:29 pm by bryan


The meningitis outbreak linked to epidural steroid injections in Tennessee now includes a total of six deaths. That brings the national number of deaths up to 11. According to Dr. John Dreyzehner, Tennessee’s Health Commissioner, a total of persons infected by the rare fungal meningitis now stands at 39 in our state. There have been 119 cases nationwide.

We have confirmed that Middle Tennessee Medical Center in Murfreesboro did not use steroid injections from the pharmacy responsible for the outbreak.

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Dr. Andy Brown from MTMC will be a guest on the WGNS Action Line at 8:10, Wednesday morning. Tune in to FM 100.5, FM 101.9 and AM 1450 for more information about the meningitis cases in Tennessee.  

Statement Released by the State of Tennessee:

Tennessee Health Commissioner John Dreyzehner, MD, MPH, has provided an update on the investigation of infections associated with recalled methylprednisolone acetate. His statements from today’s media briefing are included below.

As of 1 p.m. on October 9, 2012, TDH has now confirmed 39 cases of illnesses linked to this outbreak. Of those cases, six have resulted in death of the patients.

The State Health Operations Center is still activated and staffed daily for monitoring and surveillance of this outbreak. Five Regional Health Operations Centers have also been activated as part of this investigation:  Upper Cumberland, Mid-Cumberland, East, Southeast and Nashville/Davidson County.

TDH advises individuals who have received either epidural steroid injections or steroid injections into major joints involving recalled material from the New England Compounding Center to contact their health care provider if they have questions or concerns. The only persons at risk of infection in this outbreak are those who received injections of methylprednisolone acetate from NECC between June 27 and Sept. 28, 2012 at previously named facilities in Nashville, Crossville and Oak Ridge.

TDH has also partnered with the Tennessee Poison Control Center to establish a hotline for individuals who have questions about this outbreak. The toll-free hotline number is 1-800-222-1222.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is also involved in this investigation, and is posting information online at www.cdc.gov/HAI/outbreaks/meningitis.html.  

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