Global Courant 2023-05-25 18:38:44
Federal officials believe 224 people have been exposed to fungal meningitis following surgeries at clinics in Matamoros, Mexico, a border town. CDC is working with local and federal officials to contact anyone who may have been exposed and is urging them to get tested. Two clinics linked to the outbreak have been closed. Two people believed to be infected with fungal meningitis have died.
Federal officials say more than 200 patients are at risk of fungal meningitis following surgical procedures at clinics in a border town with Mexico.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday it is working with Mexico’s Department of Health and U.S. state and local health departments to respond to the outbreak among patients who traveled to Matamoros, across the border from Brownsville, Texas.
Officials have identified and closed two clinics linked to the outbreak, River Side Surgical Center and Clinica K-3.
US FEDERAL HEALTH REGULATIONS WARN RESIDENTS TO CANCEL SCHEDULED SURGERIES NEAR THE MEXICAN BORDER DUE TO MENINGITIS
Mexico’s Department of Health sent the CDC a list of 221 U.S. patients potentially at risk for meningitis based on their recorded surgical procedures at both clinics from January to May 13. Three additional patients have also been identified that are not on the list, bringing the total number of people in the United States known to be potentially exposed to 224, the CDC said.
Motorists pay tolls at Gateway International Bridge in Brownsville, Texas, to enter Matamoros, Mexico on March 6, 2023. Federal officials believe more than 200 patients are at risk for fungal meningitis following surgical procedures at clinics in the Mexican border town. (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald via AP, File)
The CDC is working with more than two dozen state and local health departments to contact people with potential exposure and urge them to go to the nearest medical facility for testing. Meningitis tests include an MRI and a lumbar puncture, also called an epidural.
MYSTERIOUS MENINGITIS OUTBREAK IN MEXICO KILLS 35
Last week, the CDC warned US residents to cancel surgeries in Matamoros, saying five people from Texas who had procedures there developed suspected cases of fungal meningitis. One of them died. A second person with a suspected case has also died, the CDC said Wednesday.
Meningitis is the swelling of the protective covering of the brain and spinal cord and needs urgent treatment. Symptoms include fever, headache, stiff neck, nausea, vomiting, confusion and sensitivity to light. Cases of meningitis can be caused by viruses, bacteria, trauma, or fungi.
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Patients in the Texas cases began showing symptoms three days to six weeks after surgery in Matamoros.
People leaving the US for prescription drugs, dental procedures, surgeries and other medical treatments — otherwise known as medical tourism — are common, experts say. Mexico, Canada, India and Thailand are all popular destinations.
