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US - CDC reports 63 dead, 749 infected with fungal meningitis in 20 states (Update Aug 5, 2013)

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  • #211
    Re: US - 39 dead, 620 infected with fungal meningitis in 19 states

    My apologies for being a bit slow in working on this thread the past couple of weeks. I've been a bit under the weather.



    This week's update from CDC still shows an increase in reported cases. The good news is that there have not been any further deaths reported during the past 10 days. Information from both media and official state reports seems to indicate that there are few, if any, new cases of fungal meningitis. Almost all the newly reported cases are some form of a localized infection which, according to the CDC's Clinician Guidance, could take any of the following forms: epidual abscess, phlegmo, arachnoiditis, discitis, or vertebral osteomyelitis.

    I haven't yet seen any statistical breakdown of how many cases of localized infection are occurring in patients who have also been diagnosed with fungal meningitis, and how many cases consist solely of a localized infection.


    Status: Ongoing Investigation
    Infection: Fungal
    Facility Type: Outpatient Setting
    Case Count: 656*
    States: 19*
    Deaths: 39*

    "* The next update to case counts will be on December 28, then resuming every Monday beginning January 7."



    "What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention, and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it." - Herbert Simon

    "The benefits of education and of useful knowledge, generally diffused through a community, are essential to the preservation of a free government." - Sam Houston

    Comment

    • #212
      Re: US - 39 dead, 620 infected with fungal meningitis in 19 states

      Reuter's has done an interesting summary article on how the situation is being handled in Michigan. The entire article is worth a read but here are some interesting tidbits:


      Fungal meningitis: Michigan hospital leads fight against deadly outbreak


      "...St Joseph Mercy - a 537-bed Catholic hospital located in Ypsilanti, on the doorstep of the University of Michigan - has treated 169 of the state's 223 cases of infections that can cause meningitis, including 7 people who died.

      At one point it was so overrun that 87 of its 537 beds... were occupied by patients with fungal meningitis and related infections.

      ...CDC experts initially feared death rates in the 40 to 50 percent range; instead, only about 6 percent of those infected have died, and the CDC credits the creative and dogged efforts of state and local health officials for keeping the death rates so low.

      ...Dr Anurag Malani, an infectious disease specialist... said the challenge with the outbreak was that there was no medical literature to fall back on.

      "No one has ever seen anything of this magnitude related to fungal infections, ever," he said.

      Chiller said U.S. doctors had never treated meningitis caused by Exserohilum rostratum, the environmental mold causing most of the infections.

      "It's just a rare, rare cause of infection." Seeing that mold in the meninges - membranes covering the brain and spinal cord - is "completely new."

      ...It morphed into something bigger when some of its 53 patients with meningitis started returning with infections near the site in their back or neck where the contaminated drug was injected.

      ..."When it became obvious that the number of patients would be a much higher percentage than anticipated by the CDC, we expanded our clinic and started enlisting the help of several other hospitals," Vandenberg said.

      ...The decision to screen all patients in the hospital database who might have received tainted injections was not taken at the recommendation of the CDC.

      ...Excluding patients who had already been screened and those who had injections in areas other than the spine, the hospital targeted about 500 patients for MRI scans.

      ..."We did over 400 MRIs in about a 4-week period," Vandenberg said. The hospital screened so many patients, in fact, that the state of Michigan sent in an emergency mobile MRI unit to help.

      ...So far, about 20 percent of the MRIs have shown up as abnormal, meaning that patients have to come back for surgery and treatment.

      ...Vandenberg nevertheless cautions that the outbreak is still far from over.

      "Every single day of this screening program, we're finding one or two cases that are abnormal and need to be admitted," he said.

      ..."Unfortunately, with fungi, the incubation periods are so long and they can remain indolent. I'm definitely concerned that we're going to continue to see more cases.""
      Last edited by Catbird; December 30, 2012, 09:48 PM. Reason: trying for brevity



      "What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention, and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it." - Herbert Simon

      "The benefits of education and of useful knowledge, generally diffused through a community, are essential to the preservation of a free government." - Sam Houston

      Comment

      • #213
        Re: US - 39 dead, 620 infected with fungal meningitis in 19 states

        This weeks CDC update includes the additional fatality from MI and shows an increase of only 8 cases since the last update on Dec. 28th.


        Status: Ongoing Investigation
        Infection: Fungal
        Facility Type: Outpatient Setting
        Case Count: 664*
        States: 19*
        Deaths: 40*
        Laboratory Results


        A comparison of our numbers with the latest CDC count shows a few differences:


        IN: FT Count = 68; CDC Count = 70
        NC: FT Count = 3; CDC Count = 17
        TN: FT Count - 124; CDC Count = 140

        None of these 3 states are reporting case counts on their official Dept. of Health websites. Media reporting has dropped to almost nothing, especially for cases of peripheral infections.

        From here on, I suspect that the only numbers that we'll be seeing will be coming from the CDC.



        "What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention, and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it." - Herbert Simon

        "The benefits of education and of useful knowledge, generally diffused through a community, are essential to the preservation of a free government." - Sam Houston

        Comment

        • #214
          Re: US - CDC reports 40 dead, 664 infected with fungal meningitis in 19 states

          This week's update from CDC shows 4 additional deaths. 1 of them is the death reported by mixin () in Indiana. I will post info on the other fatalities as I find it.

          Status: Ongoing Investigation
          Infection: Fungal
          Facility Type: Outpatient Setting
          Case Count: 678*
          States: 19*
          Deaths: 44*



          "What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention, and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it." - Herbert Simon

          "The benefits of education and of useful knowledge, generally diffused through a community, are essential to the preservation of a free government." - Sam Houston

          Comment

          • #215
            Re: US - CDC reports 44 dead, 678 infected with fungal meningitis in 19 states

            There's been no weekly update from CDC today, likely due to the federal holiday.

            I will be checking for it again tomorrow.



            "What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention, and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it." - Herbert Simon

            "The benefits of education and of useful knowledge, generally diffused through a community, are essential to the preservation of a free government." - Sam Houston

            Comment

            • #216
              Re: US - CDC reports 44 dead, 678 infected with fungal meningitis in 19 states

              From website for CDC Multistate Fungal Meningitis Outbreak Investigation:

              "* Case count will be updated January 28."



              "What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention, and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it." - Herbert Simon

              "The benefits of education and of useful knowledge, generally diffused through a community, are essential to the preservation of a free government." - Sam Houston

              Comment

              • #217
                Re: US - CDC reports 44 dead, 678 infected with fungal meningitis in 19 states

                This weeks CDC update includes the latest death in MI, and an additional 15 cases reported.



                Status: Ongoing Investigation
                Infection: Fungal
                Facility Type: Outpatient Setting
                Case Count: 693*
                States: 19*
                Deaths: 45*



                "What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention, and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it." - Herbert Simon

                "The benefits of education and of useful knowledge, generally diffused through a community, are essential to the preservation of a free government." - Sam Houston

                Comment

                • #218
                  Re: US - CDC reports 45 dead, 693 infected with fungal meningitis in 19 states

                  This week's CDC update shows no new deaths and an increase of only 3 in the case count. Two of those are in MI.

                  Status: Ongoing Investigation
                  Infection: Fungal
                  Facility Type: Outpatient Setting
                  Case Count: 696*
                  States: 20*
                  Deaths: 45*


                  ETA: There are now cases in 20 states; the new edition to the list is West Virginia, where 2 cases have been found.
                  Last edited by Catbird; February 4, 2013, 04:35 PM. Reason: eta



                  "What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention, and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it." - Herbert Simon

                  "The benefits of education and of useful knowledge, generally diffused through a community, are essential to the preservation of a free government." - Sam Houston

                  Comment

                  • #219
                    Re: US - CDC reports 45 dead, 693 infected with fungal meningitis in 19 states

                    This week's CDC update includes an additional death and an increase in reported cases of injection site infections.


                    Status: Ongoing Investigation
                    Infection: Fungal
                    Facility Type: Outpatient Setting
                    Case Count: 704*
                    States: 20*
                    Deaths: 46*



                    "What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention, and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it." - Herbert Simon

                    "The benefits of education and of useful knowledge, generally diffused through a community, are essential to the preservation of a free government." - Sam Houston

                    Comment

                    • #220
                      Re: US - CDC reports 46 dead, 704 infected with fungal meningitis in 19 states

                      This week's CDC update shows an additional death in Indiana and 3 additional cases, which only illustrates the fact that while the outbreak is waning, it is not yet over.

                      Status: Ongoing Investigation
                      Infection: Fungal
                      Facility Type: Outpatient Setting
                      Case Count: 707*
                      States: 20*
                      Deaths: 47*



                      "What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention, and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it." - Herbert Simon

                      "The benefits of education and of useful knowledge, generally diffused through a community, are essential to the preservation of a free government." - Sam Houston

                      Comment

                      • #221
                        Re: US - CDC reports 47 dead, 707 infected with fungal meningitis in 19 states

                        This week's CDC update shows another death and additional infections. It also includes updates to Interim Treatment Guidance (see FT thread here) as well as the announcement of a Clinician Conference Call on March 13 (see FT thread here).

                        Although this has completely dropped out of sight of the mainstream media, it is still an ongoing outbreak. The latest announcement from the CDC indicates that new cases of meningitis, as well as additional local site infections, are still being diagnosed.


                        Status: Ongoing Investigation
                        Infection: Fungal
                        Facility Type: Outpatient Setting
                        Case Count: 720*
                        States: 20*
                        Deaths: 48*



                        "What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention, and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it." - Herbert Simon

                        "The benefits of education and of useful knowledge, generally diffused through a community, are essential to the preservation of a free government." - Sam Houston

                        Comment

                        • #222
                          Re: US - CDC reports 48 dead, 720 infected with fungal meningitis in 19 states

                          This week's CDC update shows an additional death, that of an 80 yr. old male in MI.

                          Status: Ongoing Investigation
                          Infection: Fungal
                          Facility Type: Outpatient Setting
                          Case Count: 722*
                          States: 20*
                          Deaths: 50*

                          * Case counts will be updated 3/25/2013.



                          It appears that updates will now happen only every 2 weeks.

                          A reminder that there is a conference call for clinicians scheduled for Mar. 13th to discuss the updated guidance announced in the CDC HAN of Mar. 4th. (CDC notice here).



                          "What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention, and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it." - Herbert Simon

                          "The benefits of education and of useful knowledge, generally diffused through a community, are essential to the preservation of a free government." - Sam Houston

                          Comment

                          • #223
                            Re: US - CDC reports 50 dead, 722 infected with fungal meningitis in 20 states

                            Both the case count and fatalities are still increasing.

                            CDC Update:

                            Status: Ongoing Investigation
                            Infection: Fungal
                            Facility Type: Outpatient Setting
                            Case Count: 730*
                            States: 20*
                            Deaths: 51*



                            "What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention, and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it." - Herbert Simon

                            "The benefits of education and of useful knowledge, generally diffused through a community, are essential to the preservation of a free government." - Sam Houston

                            Comment

                            • #224
                              Re: US - CDC reports 51 dead, 730 infected with fungal meningitis in 20 states

                              The latest update from CDC shows that both deaths and the case count are still increasing.

                              April 8, 2013

                              Status: Ongoing Investigation
                              Infection: Fungal
                              Facility Type: Outpatient Setting
                              Case Count: 733*
                              States: 20*
                              Deaths: 53*

                              "* Case counts will be updated 5/06/2013."



                              "What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention, and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it." - Herbert Simon

                              "The benefits of education and of useful knowledge, generally diffused through a community, are essential to the preservation of a free government." - Sam Houston

                              Comment

                              • #225
                                Re: US - CDC reports 53 dead, 733 infected with fungal meningitis in 20 states

                                The monthly update from CDC continues to show new cases and additional deaths.

                                Status: Ongoing Investigation
                                Infection: Fungal
                                Facility Type: Outpatient Setting
                                Case Count: 741*
                                States: 20*
                                Deaths: 55*

                                * Case counts will be updated June 3, 2013.



                                "What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention, and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it." - Herbert Simon

                                "The benefits of education and of useful knowledge, generally diffused through a community, are essential to the preservation of a free government." - Sam Houston

                                Comment

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