SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Utah Department of Health has issued an alert after an eastern Idaho man was diagnosed with fungal meningitis in a recent outbreak of the infection.
The Deseret News reports (http://bit.ly/WhySKZ ) the department is urging Utah residents to be aware of any symptoms related to meningitis.
An outbreak of fungal meningitis has been linked to steroid shots for back pain. The medication, made by a specialty pharmacy in Massachusetts, has been recalled.
The outbreak is being blamed for at least 15 deaths and 197 illnesses in 13 states, but Utah is not among them.
Officials say that while Utah health care providers never received any of the recalled medication from the Massachusetts facility, they did receive other medication from it.
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Information from: Deseret News, http://www.deseretnews.com
