Ind. agency: State has 32 fungal meningitis cases

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Indiana has two more cases of fungal meningitis linked to injections of a recalled back pain steroid, bringing the state's total to 32.

The Indiana State Department of Health reported the new cases Wednesday. Two Indiana patients have died.

The state agency has released no details about the two deaths or the clinics they're linked to. Its policy is to withhold details about where the Indiana cases are located.

Relatives of 89-year-old Pauline Burema of Cassopolis, Mich., have said they believe she contracted the disease after receiving an injection at the OSMC Outpatient Surgery Center in Elkhart. Burema died Oct. 10, and the family is awaiting autopsy results on the cause. A granddaughter has said the clinic has told its patients it had at least eight cases.

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NEW YORK (AP) -- Health officials say four more people have died in the national meningitis outbreak, bringing the number of deaths to 19.

The deaths are among the 247 people in 15 states sickened in the outbreak, which has been tied to steroid shots for back pain. Most have a rare fungal form of meningitis. Two have joint infections.

A specialty pharmacy in Massachusetts made the steroid, and federal officials are investigating the business.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated the count on Wednesday.  There were two more deaths reported in Tennessee and one each in Florida and Virginia.

The CDC also said test results so far show infections with three kinds of fungus. Most were a form of black mold.
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Online CDC outbreak information