The national epidemic of fungal meningitis caused by tainted steroid injections from New England Compounding Center (NECC) isn't over. While the first wave of cases ended in November, six weeks after injections were stopped and the NECC products recalled, another problem cropped up.
It turned out that many of those who got the injections but didn't get meningitis -- as well as many who did -- are developing painful abscesses in the tissue surrounding their spine, the site of painkiller injections.
As WebMD recently reported, many of those who were disease-free a month after their steroid injection are now coming down with abscesses that require long hospitalizations and often surgery. In fact, the latency period for the fungus has now stretched beyond 120 days , according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Jodie Tillman of the Tampa Bay Times reports how the double threat has kept Ocala resident Vilinda York in the hospital for four months, with no end in sight.
