Meningitis Outbreak makes 23 Tennessee Residents Sick in Two Weeks

We have been moving forward with litigation surrounding the Tennessee Fungal Meningitis Outbreak. Unfortunately, it appears that there may be more tragic cases that have yet to be diagnosed. According to Tennessee Health Commissioner, Dr. John Dreyzehner, fungal infections are up twenty-seven percent in Tennessee after rechecking new illness updates in the national outbreak after Thanksgiving. The company that had contaminated injections is continuing action to revamp and improve oversight of pharmacy labs. The total number of fungal infections and illnesses in Tennessee is now one hundred and seven, including twenty-three new cases since the Thanksgiving holiday. Eighty-one of the illnesses since the outbreak began are cases of meningitis, but almost all the new cases are localized infections. One new case was meningitis alone, while two other people were diagnosed with both meningitis and localized infections. Tennessee’s death toll remains at thirteen.

So far, known infections are linked to only the recalled steroid methylprednisolone acetate, however, Tennessee doctors are urged to look for illnesses stemming from other New England Compounding products where the contaminated injections were found. It is also possible that contaminants also have been detected in unopened vials of triamcinolone, a steroid that is injected into the eye as a treatment for a type of vision loss called age-related macular degeneration. According to Dr. John Dreyzehner, the longest period for an infection to occur after the last injection of methylprednisolone acetate has been eighty-two days in Tennessee and nationwide the longest reported incubation period has been one hundred and twenty days.

The antifungal drug Voriconazole can be prescribed for the localized infections, but the boils also have to be drained and cleaned out. In a few cases, another antifungal, Amphotericin B, has been prescribed. According to Dr. John Jernigan, who leads the nationwide response to the outbreak for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “the time is unknown for how long people will have to take Voriconazole.” Also, Dr. John Jernigan stated that, “a smaller cluster of another type of fungal meningitis also caused by spinal injections more than a decade ago had an incubation period as long as one hundred and sixty days.

As more people across the country and even Tennessee residents continue to be affected by this outbreak, it is important that if you are someone you love has been sickened by this illness, that you contact one of our compassionate and experienced Tennessee medical malpractice attorneys as soon as possible. We care about our clients and will work with you to make sure you receive the compensation you need for what you have suffered.