Community Corner

Fungal Meningitis Strikes 5th Person in Minnesota

The MN Department of Health hasn't said where the five infected patients live, but the clinics where more than 800 people in MN got tainted steroid shots are in Fridley, Edina, Maple Grove and Shakopee.

Minnesota has its fifth case of fungal meningitis, the Minnesota Department of Health announced Monday morning.

The new case is a woman in her 20s, said Doug Schutz, MDH spokesperson. That makes her the youngest person to get the infection in the state so far.

On Oct. 13, the agency said a woman in her 70s was the latest to come down with fungal meningitis, which is not spread person-to-person.

Find out what's happening in Fridleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Minnesota's first three patients to get the infection were all women in their 40s, the MDH said, and two were well enough to leave the hospital last week.

Schutz said the MDH does not attach any special significance to the ages of those infected so far. They have in common that they sought treatment for back pain, which can strike people of any age, he said.

Find out what's happening in Fridleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

No one in Minnesota has died in the outbreak tied to contiminated steroids produced in Massachusetts. But the infection has stricken more than 200 people and killed 15 in 14 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Minnesota is home to the first lawsuit in the United States file in connection to the outbreak, according to media reports.  A resident of Savage, MN who underwent a spinal tap sued the New England Compounding Center after she underwent a spinal tap to test for the infection.

These are the two providers in Minnesota that provided the tainted steroids and the locations of their six clinics, according to the Minnesota Department of Health:


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