Meningits outbreak just got way worse

CDC: Tests may not detect meningitis fungus

"Patients whose fungal tests are negative may still be at risk in a meningitis outbreak, as the fungus involved can be difficult to detect, federal health officials said Thursday.

symptoms from Exserohilum can take a long time to develop. Patients who received the injections should remain vigilant for "at least several months after injection,"

[link to www.cnn.com]

incubation period is usually between one and four weeks, but the CDC says infections have been known to surface outside that window, and the contaminated steroid could have been given as early as May 21.

[link to www.latimes.com]

Oct. 11, 2012:

Because the ranges of pathogens associated with this outbreak may not have been fully determined, it is important to perform a thorough diagnostic work-up in exposed patient with signs and symptoms of CNS and/or parameningeal infections or septic arthritis.

[link to www.cdc.gov]

I knew something was off. The huge leap in cases daily did not add up to what they already knew. Aspergillus is commonly seen in cystic fibrosis patients. You do not hear of them dying from fungal meningitis.

Can anyone find information on time lapsed from appearance of symptoms to death? I have not found any such information, many times it is covered under HIPPA but depending on the situation, it might be available.

going strong there in the united states of petri dish eh?

it makes no sense to me that it is aspergillis. Aspergillis is a water borne fungus. Fish tanks, foul/standing water, wet leaves, soil, boggy creeks, etc.

how does a fungi like that accidently get into a pharmaceutical compounding clinic? especially THAT fungi?

Must have been in the "sterile" water they use in injections.

something about this didn't sound right at the start. Now add in recent CDC comments, and it sounds even more strange. They've identified it as aspergillis, but they seem to be back-peddling quite a bit on everything else. Then the statement about infection? I sure hope they're not 'forewarning' about MRSA (or MRSA type bacteria)

hate to be doom=gloomer here, but I'm just critical about anything the letter people release as an 'official' statement

OK I found a fair article that explains a bit about this fungus in laymans terms.

[link to pursuenatural.wordpress.com]

Exserohilum is a form of black mold. It has never before been found in meningitis cases. This truly is new territory, however, the case of the ankle infection bothers me some.

something else I had noticed, and it probably means absolutely nothing but I'll share anyways

anyone else notice that they were quick to point out that the steroid injectables were contaminated in a compounding pharmacy? like they really wanted to make sure that everyone knew that this was the clinic's fault....not the big guys?

bothers you in what way?

It's never the big guys fault, to many small guys to take the fall.

yep....first thing I thought of too...public relation deniability.

Not sure Ladyannie. I stated once before that the way I felt about this whole thing was like speaking in public and forgetting the next word.

That whole deer in the headlights look, but SOMETHING is tickling my brain like the word that sits on the tip of your tongue yet you can't get it out.

Gut feeling says that there is still missing details to bring it together. This type of fungus from what I have found typically causes skin infections. There are actually a few pictures of what it does to the skin online.

Curious to see if that ankle infection progresses.

So far, the cause of death appears to be largely related to strokes in these meningitis patients.

Anybody know the name of the company who sold these tainted jabs?

They have NOT made the company name well known? Why?

How did this facility that makes meds, find itself in an area which had very little government over-site?

ENOUGH!!!!!!

There is no doubt, that they are going to kill us all using this health care system. Think about that a minute, especially if you have a doctors appointment this week.

And to top it all off, I read an article yesterday that said that the majority of the jabs, especially directly into the spine are UNNECESSARY. The only reason they do it is to collect the money.....each jab costs over $100. They have entire clinics set up to do nothing but these steroid shots.

Just say "no" America, to the drugs and the doctors. They don't care if you live or die....they only care about getting paid.

It seems they will use this event as a way to gain control of all pharmaceutical businesses.

The pharmacy at the centre of a deadly US meningitis outbreak possibly linked to tainted steroid injections faced mounting federal and state scrutiny on Thursday, including a potential criminal investigation, as the national death toll climbed to 14.

As many as 14 000 people - 1 000 more than previously thought - received injections from suspect shipments of steroid treatments produced by the Framingham, Massachusetts-based New England Compounding centre (NECC).

[link to www.iol.co.za]

The labs in MA were mixing old with the new. The old ones were tainted.

This is a practice every pharmaceutical company practices.

Did you take any Advil today? Your sure to have injested something that is not normally found in Advil. Maybe that Advil you took was mixed with Tylenol that was left in a damp room for a whole year.

Ladyannie, as far as aspergillus being a water borne fungi..google the words drought and aflatoxin and see the interesting things you can find there. Also of interest may be what states have asked the EPA to adjust levels of this toxin for safe consumption recently. :)

apparantly the specific steroid is/was methylprednisolone. Yes it is often used for back/arthritis pain as well as other anti-inflamatory issues. Chronic or acute

can be taken orally in pill form, intramuscular, and intravenous.

one thing is not making sense tho: I just tried finding a pharmacy that did not ship in a sterile powder form, and I couldn't find one. every single one was in a dry, sterile powder formula. the only variable was the dose and if you wanted to purchase in single use vials, or a larger, economy sized

the inj form is sent by the pharmaceutical company in a dry, sterile form. it has a much longer shelf life that way. but once it's reconstituted (sterile saline), it's gotta be used quickly or it has to be tossed out.

if there was something wrong with the medication, either the dry steroid or the saline to reconstitute, the error would fall to the pharmaceutical company. not sure why a compound facility would be involved at all, as there is nothing special about methylprednisilone. yet, in every clip I seen or story I read the compounding pharmacy was blamed almost immediately...almost ~too~ quickly blamed imho.

the whole thing is strange...I'll go back and read the articles again....maybe I'm missing something

wow! thanks ac# 10743136. I didn't know about the food contamination. I've never associated aspergillis with processed food at all. Just soil, dirt, and fresh fruits/veggies, etc.

lots of good info for anyone interested:

[link to en.wikipedia.org]

thanks ac!

i have a health condition which epidural (steroid) injections are often used to relieve pain. I have had 9 of those injections in the past 10 months. the injections did not relieve my pain, they did not cause me to get sick, but steroids weakens the immune system. with an auto-immune disorder or disease, the steroids made me more susceptible to contract influenza, meningitis, or the like. my doctor office was on the list of receiving the tainted steroids, & I'm still the way I usually am.

((I am grateful too, my non-verbal 2 year old wouldn't know what to do without me, his mommy.))

I have been waiting for this thread. Truth is getting out. Thanks OP.

Also i mentioned in another thread that West Nile Virus has similar symptoms including stiff neck, confussion and abdominal pain.
[link to www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

MS?

make sure you have your best natural anti-microbials at home...