TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Gov. Rick Scott says four confirmed meningitis cases in Florida are linked to a national outbreak that has killed eight people and sickened another 105.
Scott said Tuesday that all four cases are related to the same facility in Marion County. He says that as of Monday authorities had contacted nearly 700 of the 1,185 patients linked to facilities that got tainted medicine in Marion, Miami-Dade, Orange and Escambia counties.
Health officials suspect a tainted steroid medication made by a specialty pharmacy is to blame. They don't know how many of the shots have been contaminated with meningitis-causing fungus tied to the outbreak. Investigators say as many as 13,000 people may have received the tainted shots and about 17,700 single-dose vials sent to 23 states have been recalled.
