ND facilities got meningitis-linked products

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The state Health Department reported Wednesday that six North Dakota pharmacies or clinics have received products from a Massachusetts company associated with a national meningitis outbreak.

The department said it has informed facilities in Williston, Fargo and Grand Forks of new federal recommendations regarding products from New England Compounding Co.

Only three lots of medications, none of which were shipped to North Dakota, were originally implicated in the outbreak. But the department said additional cases of meningitis reported in other states indicate other medications may also be causing meningitis.

The department said no cases of meningitis or joint infections had been reported in North Dakota as of Wednesday, and none of the products received by North Dakota health care facilities have been implicated in any of the outbreak illnesses.

However, the Health Department said out of an abundance of caution it is endorsing federal recommendations that health-care providers notify any patients who may have received any injectable or ophthalmic medication from the company that was produced or purchased on or after May 21. The department is also advising patients to seek care if they develop symptoms of meningitis or joint infection.

Symptoms of meningitis include fever, headache, stiff neck, nausea and vomiting, sensitivity to light and altered mental status, the department said. Symptoms for fungal infections may include fever; swelling and increasing pain, redness or warmth at an injection site; pain, redness or discharge from eyes; chest pain; or drainage from a surgical site.

People who have no symptoms need take no action, the department said.

According to records from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, NECC products have been received in North Dakota by: Service Drug Pharmacy of Williston; the Department of Veterans Affairs in Fargo; the Hogue Vein Institute of Fargo; Altru FMC, Side A in Grand Forks; Lamb Plastic Surgery Center in Fargo; and Northern Plains Surgery in Fargo.

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