AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Health officials say a Central Texas woman is the state's first confirmed case of fungal meningitis in a nationwide outbreak linked to steroid shots for back pain.
The Texas Department of State Health Services said Friday the woman was hospitalized and is being treated with antifungal drugs. The health department said additional details are not being released to protect her identity. Fungal meningitis is not contagious.
So far, the tainted steroid shots that have sickened at least 184 people in 12 states, causing 14 deaths. The medication, made by a specialty pharmacy in Massachusetts, has been recalled.
Two North Texas facilities are known to have used the drugs, and the roughly 130 patients who received shots were notified. State officials did not name the facility tied to the Texas case.
