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Minnesota reports more fungal meningitis

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Oct 26, 2012 at 6:34 am

ST. PAUL, Minn. (KNSI) The Minnesota Department of Health is reporting the state's eighth and ninth confirmed cases of fungal meningitis in a national outbreak tied to tainted steroids.

Spokesman Buddy Ferguson says the patients are a man in his 60's and a man in his 50's. He did not have details on their conditions.

They are the state's first new confirmed cases in about a week, but Ferguson says Minnesota may see more cases because the disease seems to have a long incubation period.

The department says around 985 patients associated with six Minnesota clinics received injectable steroids linked to the fungal meningitis outbreak that were produced by the New England Compounding Center.

Nationally, the tainted steroids have been linked to nearly 330 illnesses in 18 states, including 24 deaths as of Thursday.