CDC raises number of Indiana meningitis cases to 37 - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

The number of fungal meningitis cases linked to injections of a recalled back pain medication has risen to 37 in Indiana.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported two additional cases when it updated its website Saturday. Two Indiana patients have died.

The Indiana State Department of Health has released no details about the two deaths or the clinics they're linked to. Six Indiana clinics received the tainted steroids.

Two Indiana law firms on Friday filed a lawsuit related to the outbreak on behalf of a Columbus woman who says she received three steroid injections at Wellspring Pain Solutions in Columbus.

An outbreak of fungal meningitis has been linked to steroid shots for back pain. The medication, made by a specialty pharmacy in Massachusetts, has been recalled.

Latest numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

Illnesses: 284, including three joint infections.

Deaths: 23

States: 16; Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

Online:

CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/HAI/outbreaks/meningitis.html

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