Unknowns remain in meningitis outbreak, as health officials search for clues
News of the meningitis outbreak continues to consume my time, but I wanted to give you, my blog readers, a place to ask questions and comment on the outbreak.
Here’s the latest news from my story published today.
The number of people sickened from the deadly meningitis outbreak is expected to rise, as health officials acknowledged they still don’t know how long, if ever, it takes for a person who received tainted steroid injections to exhibit symptoms.
“This is going to be evolving,” state Health Commissioner Karen Remley said in a teleconference with reporters Tuesday. “We don’t know how many will get sick and how long it will take to get sick.”
Virginia health officials have linked 24 people to the meningitis outbreak that has killed 11 nationally. One has died in Virginia.
All those linked to the outbreak received a tainted steroid injection. Just two outpatient clinics in Virginia gave the shots: Insight Imaging in Roanoke and New River Valley Surgery Center in Montgomery County.
Of the 24 Virginia cases identified so far, three live in West Virginia, but received the shots in Virginia, said state epidemiologist Dr. David Trump.
Even as more patients are identified, and many questions remain, one new detail has emerged about those who appear to be most prone to becoming ill.
Among the cases identified in Virginia, all of the people received a shot from the second of the three recalled lots of medicine linked to the outbreak, Trump said.
The finding means that people who received the epidural spinal injections at Insight Imaging in Roanoke or New River Valley Surgery Center in Montgomery County on or after Aug. 8 are of biggest concern to health officials for potentially becoming ill, Trump said.
Investigators have linked the outbreak to three lots of a steroid that was custom-made by a specialty pharmacy, New England Compounding Center of Framingham, Mass. Those lots, which have been recalled, were sent to about 75 clinics in 23 states, including the two in Southwest Virginia. The earliest injections were given starting May 21, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Remley and Trump acknowledged that it will take time for all of the answers to emerge.
“This will be a multimonth process for the health department,” Remley said
October 10, 2012 - 9:24 AM
i had a steroid injection on aug 10th and have been back and forth to the Carilion ER 3x. this is being handled very poorly. nobody wants to make any decisions and i keep being told to call my MD if i have the symptoms, which i have had, and when i call i am sent to the ER. ridiculous unproductive cycle!!
Brian, you might need to go to Lewis Gale’s er.
So, the FDA warns us of the grave dangers of buying medicine from Canada. Now it turns out the FDA is not inspecting operations at NECC and places like it. Anyone else see the tragic irony in this?
I bet those doctors at Insight Imaging are really sweating! That’s what you get for buying cheap stuff! Hope they have good lawyers!
Insight Imaging is not to blame. It will fall on NECC
@ sarah — great job with the updates and coverage; my heart goes out to those dealing with this mess.
Just wondering ,this year I have had 3 injections at Insight Imaging,was told they was same lot no. but different batch,have had flu like symptons and severe headaches,my last injection was June 4 2012… should I be tested? they were all epidural injections..
@Jackie Gibson. First, if you are concerned, health officials suggest you call your doctor. But, the Virginia Department of Health has said that all patients who received one of the suspected contaminated shots should have been notified by Insight at this point. Additionally, the health department says that all the injections were given between June 28 and Sept. 26.
My son was diagnosed Oct. 7th. He’s been in Rke. Mem. Hosp. ever since.
First they said they caught it early, he is in good health and he shouldn’t
be in there more than a few days. A few days turned into a week, then two weeks and now going to 3rd week and they are going to put in a pump that he can get medication for the pain when he wants it instead of waiting for them to bring it to him. His suffering is unbearable. Last night was the worse. Pain from the nerves were running down from his back to his legs.
He couldn’t lie in the bed. He had to sit up in a hard chair for relief and that only last a couple of min. One of the doc.’s said yesterday that he didn’t want any of his meningitis patients to have to be in pain, that he was working with Pain Management to keep it in check. But they have to be careful because the antifungal drug was damaging his kidneys and some pain meds would hurt them also.
He had good nurses taking care of him but when it’s time for them to go home, they want to get their paper work done and get out of there. Then that is when he has the longest wait for the pain medicine. He gets hardly not sleep and has no appetite. His legs are swollen from all the fluid they keep pumping into him. Most of the meds aren’t doing the job.
But the ones that do are few and far between. He was in so much pain last night he actually cried. It breaks my heart. I just want him to get better and get to see his baby boy and wife.