ST. PAUL, Minn. (KMSP) -
The Minnesota Department of Health has confirmed the state's 10th case of fungal meningitis as part of a national outbreak linked to tainted steroids from a Massachusetts pharmacy.
Assistant state epidemiologist Richard Danila says the patient is a Twin Cities area woman in her 60s. She's not hospitalized but is being treated.
Danila says the patient received a spinal injection at Medical Advanced Pain Specialists, one of two chains of Minnesota clinics that received contaminated steroids from the New England Compounding Center.
The tainted steroids have been linked to more than 350 meningitis cases and 25 deaths in 19 states. The Minnesota Department of Health has said around 985 patients associated with six Minnesota clinics received tainted steroids.
On Oct. 8, the pharmaceutical lab issued a voluntary recall of all of its products, citing "an abundance of caution." Three days later, an attorney in Minnesota filed what he said was the first federal lawsuit against NECC, alleging the company was negligent.
Symptoms of meningitis include severe headache, nausea, dizziness and fever. The CDC said many of the cases have been mild, and some people had strokes.
