Outbreak linked to tainted steroid injections rises to 24 cases, Arkansas becomes fourth state
In a follow up to the multistate investigation of a possible outbreak of suspected infections among persons who received preservative-free methylprednisolone acetate (MPA) produced by the Main Street Family Pharmacy in Newbern, Tennessee, federal health officials are reporting, as of June 3, 24 cases from four states.
States under the current investigation map
Image/CDC
In addition to Florida, Illinois and North Carolina, Arkansas becomes the fourth state to be part of this multistate investigation.
The Arkansas Department of Health started investigating the MPA from the Tennessee compounding pharmacy late last week.
The majority of these persons developed skin and soft tissue infections of unclear etiology following intramuscular injection of this product. Additional clinical information is being gathered. To date, no reports of meningitis or other life-threatening infections have been reported.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on May 24 announced that the Newbern pharmacy had recalled all its sterile drugs because of illnesses that were first observed in Illinois.
State and local health departments are working with CDC and FDA to evaluate this situation.
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