Pharmacy linked to outbreak recalls all products
ATLANTA (AP) - The pharmacy that distributed a steroid linked to an outbreak of fungal meningitis has issued a voluntary recall of all of its products, calling the move a precautionary measure.
The New England Compounding Center announced the recall Saturday. The company said in a news release that the move was taken out of an abundance of caution because of the risk of contamination. It says there is no indication that any other products have been contaminated.
The Food and Drug Administration had previously told health professionals not to use any products distributed by the center.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted updated figures to its website Sunday showing there are 91 confirmed cases of the rare form of fungal meningitis. The outbreak spans nine states and has killed at least seven people.
The states with reported cases are: Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia.
The steroid linked to the outbreak had already been recalled, and health officials have been scrambling to notify anyone who may have received an injection of it. The Massachusetts pharmacy that made it has said it is cooperating with investigators.
It is not yet known exactly how many people may have been affected, though it could affect hundreds or even thousands of people who received the steroid injections for back pain from July to September.
Meningitis is caused by the inflammation of protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. Fungal meningitis is not contagious as are its more common viral and bacterial counterparts.
The New England Compounding Center announced the recall Saturday. The company said in a news release that the move was taken out of an abundance of caution because of the risk of contamination. It says there is no indication that any other products have been contaminated.
The Food and Drug Administration had previously told health professionals not to use any products distributed by the center.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted updated figures to its website Sunday showing there are 91 confirmed cases of the rare form of fungal meningitis. The outbreak spans nine states and has killed at least seven people.
The states with reported cases are: Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia.
The steroid linked to the outbreak had already been recalled, and health officials have been scrambling to notify anyone who may have received an injection of it. The Massachusetts pharmacy that made it has said it is cooperating with investigators.
It is not yet known exactly how many people may have been affected, though it could affect hundreds or even thousands of people who received the steroid injections for back pain from July to September.
Meningitis is caused by the inflammation of protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. Fungal meningitis is not contagious as are its more common viral and bacterial counterparts.
If you use compounding, please make sure you use only PCAB Accredited pharmacies. Â There are only three in the state of Oregon. Â PCAB Accreditation is the only compounding recognized by the AMA. Â We proudly use Creative Compounding in Wilsonville due to their PCAB Accreditation. Â
Ah, we don't need these unnecessary government regulations do we Mitt. Isn't the FDA on the top of your list of government agencies to be trimmed back as an unnecessary expenditure?Â
 @peckishpete How about just electing in Romney so he can tamp down Pelosi's directed overspending and nonstimulus bankrupting of us all - not like Obama has ever produced a balanced budget or acted like he knew what a detailed BUDGET even looked like - as a matter of fact.
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Go back to having Pelosi be House Speaker and Obama be her directed puppet in our White House - bankrupting us all? Come on - Mitt Romney balanced budgets and does so with the support of conscientious dems - for a reason. Check it out, peckishpete. The fiscal abilities of Mitt Romney - that have sustainably funded health care "reform" in Massachusetts since he worked with dems and accomplished that, too.
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SUSTAINABLY - which means Massachusetts bureaucrats have to find the monies to fund health care - along with education and public safety - each and every budget cycle. Not ignore that whole public process - like Obama only does - in order to pass along trillions of dollars to his friends - Obama doing that - unaccountably - all the time.Â
Katu is slow in reporting this. I saw it Friday elsewhere. I should hope that any Dr's that have used these from this company was right on the phone calling patients.
What a joke. Â "Â the move was taken out of an abundance of caution" hahaha.
I would have thought all products would have been recalled immediately after it seemed that there was a problem. "Abundance of caution"?  How do you recall stuff that was already injected?