It’s far from over; it may just be beginning, experts are warning. The scary meningitis outbreak that has already sickened 28 people in Indiana, killing 2 Indianians, as well as 13 other people across the country with over 200 other victims becoming ill, not only seems to be growing, but now the federal government has announced that two more drugs from this same compounding pharmacy may be hurting people, too.
Vanderbilt Medical Center professor, Dr. William Schaffner, expects this outbreak of fungal meningitis to get bigger, it’s not under control, and we will see weeks of more reports of innocent victims getting sick and even passing away from drugs that they thought would help them and which they assumed were safe to use.
The fact that this week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it is investigating two more drug products made and sold by the New England Compounding Center (NECC) does not help things. It suggests that there are lots more drugs out there, in the marketplace and in use, that can hurt and kill people.
The FDA has expanded its investigation into these additional medications:
- The cardioplegic solution sold by the New England Compounding Center (2 heart transplant patients came down with fungal infections after taking this NECC drug); and
- The ophthalmic drugs sold by the New England Compounding Center (no infections have been reported as of this posting, but the FDA reports it is checking these eye surgery drugs because they are made in a similar manner as the other two drugs under investigation produced and sold by the NECC).
As of October 15, 2012, here is the Centers for Disease Control mapping of the meningitis outbreak, and it’s important to note that the CDC updates its case statistics (ill, fatal) every single day beginning with October 6, 2012:
If you or a loved one have any concern that you are a victim of this compounding pharmacy’s contaminated drugs, then please don’t procrastinate. Get medical attention immediately and remember to keep the documentation related to the drug which you may have (including any personal notes on symptoms, concerns, etc. with their time and date) for possible use in any claims that you may need to make in the future against this drug maker / compounding pharmacy.
