Most Active Stories Shots - Health News Sat October 20, 2012
CDC: Meningitis Mold In Tainted Drug Can Incubate For Months
Originally published on Mon October 22, 2012 10:38 am As the
caseload of fungal meningitis linked to a tainted steroid drug
climbs, experts are learning more about this human-made
epidemic. The signs indicate that cases could still be emerging
until Thanksgiving or beyond. The latest count is 268 cases of
meningitis and three patients with fungal joint infections,
spread across 16 states from New Hampshire to Texas and Idaho to
Florida. Twenty-one people have died. The illness is caused by a
fungus called Exserohilum rostratum, a black mold that usually
attacks plants. It's so rare as a cause of human illness that
nobody knows its incubation period. So it's hard to predict when
the outbreak will be over, even though presumably no patients
received the contaminated steroid since the Massachusetts
pharmacy that made it recalled three lots on Sept. 21. "The
incubation period is something that