120 Infections And 8 Deaths Attributed to Contaminated Steroids

Some 120 infections and eight deaths have been reported in Michigan in a national outbreak of fungal meningitis linked to contaminated steroids from a Massachusetts pharmacy.  These new figures were reported by the Michigan Department of Community Health on Monday.  The eight deaths in Michigan include a Cass County woman whose meningitis was linked to treatments for back pain in a clinic in Indiana clinic. Two deaths were from Washtenaw County and one each from Charlevoix, Genesee, Livingston, Oakland and Wayne counties.   One of the deaths is believed to have been caused by a stroke, while the others were meningitis cases.  The Associated Press states that the Michigan infections include 51 epidural abscesses and six joint infections related to the same contaminated steroids.