600 Calif. Patients Received Steroid Shots Linked To Deadly Meningitis Outbreak
LOS ANGELES (AP) — California health officials say about 600 patients were treated with steroid shots from recalled batches of medicine suspected in a deadly meningitis outbreak.
Public health spokeswoman Norma Arceo says the state is in touch with the four facilities that received the recalled medicine here. The shots are often used to treat back pain.
No meningitis-related deaths have been reported in California, but eight people have died in other states after receiving a shot contaminated with meningitis-causing fungus.
Across the country, as many as 13,000 received steroid shots from batches that were later recalled, and 105 people have been sickened in the outbreak.
Arceo says state health officials are also communicating with local health departments to ensure every patient in California is notified.
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