Blog 6: In Outbreak, Meningitis is Reported in 5 States

A recent meningitis outbreak has swept the eastern part of the United States, stemming from a fungus in spinal injection fluid. It has killed 5 and left 30 ill, with new cases emerging daily. Aspergillus, the fungus in question, has been infecting the victims through its accidental inclusion in a steroid drug used for back pain and could possibly have been shipped to 23 states. This drug can is traced to the New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Massachusetts. Compounding pharmacies are not subject to the same rigorous safety standards that major drug manufacturers are. Three lots of methylprednisolone acetate were recalled on September 26 after the fungus was identified. Details of in what amounts and where it was shipped are unavailable.  The compounding center has refused comment.  Due to the severity of fungal infections, patients are estimated to need six months to a year to recover.

This outbreak questions the integrity of pharmacies in the United States, while simultaneously raising the question of how the fungus arose from the drug methylprednisolone acetate. With drugs being produced around the world in countries such as India, it becomes difficult to ascertain whether the fungal drug is to the fault of the United States or wherever it received the drug from(if outside the United States). This growing disconnect between the product and the consumer is a natural result of globalization, and in this context it is at the consumer’s expense, as the meningitis victims have had their lives seriously impacted(or ended) due to a source that they cannot directly identify. This is an ethical issue, as it is to be expected of the drug’s manufacturer’s to take responsibility and accept the consequences for its mistake. One would also wonder if the drug in question is a particularly cheap drug or not, since those with higher incomes would likely not have purchased it if it was and therefore would not be subject to this disease. The fact that in this situation one's social status could be costing his or her life is especially problematic.