AlHijjah 1, 1433, Oct 17, 2012, SPA - Another 19 people have been diagnosed with fungal meningitis linked to tainted vials of a steroid medication, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Tuesday, bringing the total number of cases to 231. The death toll from the unprecedented outbreak was unchanged at 15, the CDC said. Nearly one-third of the new cases were in Tennessee, and the other cases were in eight states in the eastern third of the country. On Monday the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it had widened its investigation to other drugs produced by New England Compounding Center, the pharmacy at the center of the outbreak. The Massachusetts company faces multiple investigations and lawsuits over the tainted medication linked to the meningitis cases.
