FDA Expands Investigation Into Meningitis Outbreak
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The Food and Drug Administration is expanding its investigation into the growing outbreak of fungal meningitis.
There's a new list of facilities that received other drugs produced by the same company that supplied the tainted pain shots.
The latest numbers on this outbreak include nearly 300 people sickened by the contaminated steroids and 23 deaths in 16 states.
The company, NECC, manufactures other drugs, including one used during eye surgery and another used to paralyze the heart during cardiac procedures.
Now, all facilities that received shipments of those drugs are also being notified, just as a precaution.
The Allegheny Pain Management Clinic in Altoona remains the only facility in Pennsylvania in which a patient was sickened in the nationwide outbreak.
But the FDA is expanding its approach, now releasing a list of all locations that received any product produced by New England Compounding Center in Massachusetts.
Those other substances are not associated with any fungal meningitis cases. The FDA says its simply broadening the scope of its investigation.
The list includes 68 locations in Pennsylvania.
These are the local facilities that received NECC products after May 21:
- Maternal Fetal Medicine at Magee-Womens Hospital
- Office of Dr. Simona Pautler in McMurray, Washington County
- Westmorland Hospital in Greensburg
- Children's Hospital of UPMC in Pittsburgh
- Clarion Hospital in Clarion, Pa.
The FDA has notified those facilities that they should withhold all NECC products from use.
RELATED LINKS:
FDA Concerned Over Possible Tainted Drug For Heart Surgery (10/16/12)
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