LANSING - Authorities say a 15th Michigan resident has died as a result of an infection linked to contaminated steroids supplied by a Massachusetts pharmaceutical company.
The CDC pinpointed the New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Mass. in its investigation, a compounding drug manufacturer that reportedly distributed batches of injectable steroids that had been contaminated with fungus to numerous clinics across the country, according to a previous report on AnnArbor.com.
In this photo made available, Oct. 9, 2012, the Minnesota Department of Health shows shows vials of the injectable steroid product made by New England Compounding Center implicated in a fungal meningitis outbreak that were being shipped to the CDC from Minneapolis.
AP photo
The Michigan Department of Community Health says at least 241 people have been infected with fungal meningitis and other conditions that are part of a national disease outbreak. The steroids are used in injections to treat neck and back pain.
The department says the latest person to die was an 88-year-old Washtenaw County woman.
As of Monday, the department says there have been 67 cases of fungal meningitis, 151 epidural abscesses, one stroke and 22 peripheral joint infections in Michigan tied to the steroids.
The staff at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, located just east of Ann Arbor has been working tirelessly to accommodate the outbreak.