CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois health officials say a steroid medication suspected of causing an outbreak of a deadly form of meningitis was shipped to a pain clinic with six locations in the Chicago area.
Illinois Department of Public Health spokeswoman Melaney Arnold said Friday that no cases of the illness have been reported in the state.
The APAC Centers for Pain Management has notified patients who may have received the now-recalled steroid and stopped using the drug.
A hotline for the clinic's patients has been set up to respond to concerns. The number is 708-699-5402.
Nationally, at least 35 people have contracted fungal meningitis and five of them have died.
All received steroid injections, a common treatment for back pain, in the past few months.
