Posted on 10/17/2012 3:35:59 AM PDT by nuconvert
Was it some moldy ceiling tiles? The dusty shoes of a careless employee? Or did the contamination ride in on one of the ingredients?
There are lots of ways fungus could have gotten inside the Massachusetts compounding pharmacy whose steroid medication has been linked to a lethal outbreak of a rare fungal form of meningitis.
The outbreak has killed at least 15 people and sickened more than 200 others in 15 states. Nearly all the victims had received steroid injections for back pain.
Federal and state investigators have been tight lipped about any problems they may have seen at the New England Compounding Center or whether they have pinpointed the source of the contamination. They did disclose last week that they found fungus in more than 50 vials from the pharmacy.
-excerpt-
The drug at the center of the investigation is made without preservative, meaning there's no alcohol or other solution in it to kill germs such as a fungus. So it's very important that it be made under highly sterile conditions, experts said.
(Excerpt) Read more at financialexpress.com ...
"The Food and Drug Administration is investigating a meningitis case related to an epidural injection of triamcinolone acetonide, a topical treatment used to relieve various skin conditions.
Fungal infections were reportedly found in two transplant patients who were given cardioplegic solution, which is used to paralyze cardiac muscle during an open-heart surgery,..."
I read that they were illegally manufacturing, not just compounding.
I did a Google search of the manufacturing building and looked at the satellite photo. Looked like a scrap yard on a railroad siding, not a drug company.
” Looked like a scrap yard on a railroad siding, not a drug company.”
The same people own a recycling business right next door - that’s probably what made it look like a scrap yard.
They have speculated that the contamination could have come from the recycling business. I saw a photo that showed an old piece of furniture (sofa or chair, can’t remember) along with other junk.
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