The Centers for Disease Control is investigating a horrifying
outbreak of meningitis that thus far has killed four people and
sickened 30 others across five states. The infection, caused by
a fungus that is particularly difficult to treat called
Aspergillus, has occurred exclusively among people who received
an otherwise routine injection given to reduce lower-back pain.
(This outbreak, though similar-sounding in name, should not be
confused with the outbreak in New York City of meningitis and
blood-borne infection from a bacteria, Neisseria meningitidis,
more commonly called meningococcus.) Although the investigation
is still in progress, early suggestions point to contamination
of the injected medication—the drug used in each of the 30
patients, a steroid related to prednisone and hydrocortisone but
not to the anabolic steroids athletes use to muscle up, came
from the same manufacturer, suggesting a critical and tragic
lapse in the facility’s environmental control. And with
Aspergillus, the environment is k