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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndiana regulators have suspended the license of a Massachusetts pharmacy at the center of a deadly meningitis outbreak.
New England Compounding Center has ceased production and recalled all products produced at its Framingham, Mass., production center, including contaminated batches of a steroid injection that has caused 30 deaths in 19 states, including four in Indiana.
On Monday, the Indiana Pharmacy Board acted on a request from Attorney General Greg Zoeller and granted an emergency indefinite suspension of NECC’s license. In a statement, Zoeller said a formal complaint will follow, after which the board may consider appropriate discipline.
Fifty-one Hoosiers are confirmed to have contracted fungal meningitis after receiving shots for back or joint pain, according to the Indiana Department of Health. More than 1,500 people in Indiana were exposed to the potentially tainted treatments in outpatient procedures and have been notified by their health care provider, according to the AG’s office and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC confirmed 409 cases of fungal meningitis linked to the injections as of Tuesday. The 51 confirmed cases in Indiana is the third-highest of the 19 states affected, trailing Michigan (119 cases) and Tennessee (78 cases), according to the CDC.
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