Massachusetts Department of Public Health about 5 more fungal
meningitis cases. All the patients had received methylprednisone injec-
tions compounded by NECC.
Meningitis is an inflammation of the membranes covering the brain and
spinal cord. Symptoms include fever, chills, altered mental status, nausea,
vomiting, sensitivity to light, severe headache and neck stiffness.
Complications include brain damage, subdural effusion, hearing loss,
hydrocephalus and seizures. The typical incubation period for infectious
meningitis is 1 to 4 weeks after exposure.
In neighboring Virginia, Insight Health of Roanoke had 800 vials of
NECC methylprednisone acetate on hand. Pain specialists injected 17
patients with NECC methylprednisone, according to legal documents.
According to a lawsuit, one of the patients, Douglas Wingate, received an
epidural steroid injection for shoulder pain. Over the next 12 days, he
suffered headaches, seizures, strokes and, finally, death.
At the South Bend (Ind.) Clinic, Alice Machowiak received an injec-
tion of contaminated steroids. She suffered a severe brain hemor-
rhage and passed out on her dining room floor. Her nephew came to
visit and discovered her body. Her dog was barking and would not
leave her side.
Ultimately, 64 patients would die and 753 more would be infected.
At least some of the patients who survived suffered long-term side
effects, including loss of feeling in limbs, hallucinations, intense
chronic pain and the risk of organ failures, according to the Centers
for Disease Control. According to news reports, one Michigan woman
had to be hospitalized 7 times for a total of 75 days. A Florida woman
spent 4 months in the hospital.
On Sept. 26, agents from the Massachusetts Department of Public
Health raided the NECC offices. According to their report, they found
employees scrubbing the compounding areas with bleach, a leaky boil-
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