The Tennessean (3/13, Roche, 120K) reports Dr. Tom Chiller, medical officer for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, warned that “he will not be surprised if new victims of the fungal meningitis outbreak turn up as long as a year after receiving injections with tainted spinal steroids.” Chiller added that “new infections may appear in patients who previously had no symptoms of infection” and noted health officials seeing new cases in patients treated up to six months ago. Last week “the CDC issued new treatment guidelines calling for vigilance and continued monitoring of those who received shots from three lots of the steroid produced by the New England Compounding Center.”
CDC: Deaths from tainted medicine climbed to 50. The Boston Herald (3/14, Sweet, 91K) reports that six months after painkillers made by the New England Compounding Center were recalled, the CDC said that “the number of people dying from fungal meningitis and secondary infections has climbed to 50.” The most recent “CDC counts mark an uptick of four fatalities since Feb. 11. Another 722 people are sick, the CDC reported.”