AlHijjah 4, 1433, Oct 20, 2012, SPA -- The number of American deaths from fungal meningitis linked to potentially contaminated steroid injections has risen to 21, with a fifth death reported in Michigan, the U.S. health agency said Friday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that states reported 14 new cases of fungal meningitis, raising the total to 286. There are also three peripheral infections in the outbreak caused by injections into joints, such as knee, hip, or shoulder. The outbreak stems from medications shipped by the New England Compounding Center in Massachusetts, and the company now faces multiple federal and state investigations and lawsuits over the tainted medications.
