Tenn. Reviews Deaths to Check Meningitis Link

Tennessee health officials are reviewing recent deaths that were not previously linked to fungal meningitis after a deadly outbreak has sickened 105 people nationwide.

Tennessee Commissioner of Health Dr. John Dreyzehner said Monday that a death on Sept. 26 during the first week of the outbreak was not initially reported to the state until this weekend.

That has now increased the number of people killed to four in Tennessee and eight nationwide.

Officials did not have many details on what sort of deaths they would review.

Officials have said there is a fungal meningitis outbreak among patients who have received steroid shots for back pain. The steroid was made by a specialty pharmacy in Massachusetts.

The outbreak has sickened people in Tennessee, Michigan, Virginia, Indiana, Florida, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina and Ohio.

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