National List of Health Care Providers and Facilities that Received Products from New England Compounding Center Released

ALBANY, N.Y. (October 24, 2012) – In response to the multistate outbreak of fungal meningitis and joint infections, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released a nationwide list of health care providers and facilities that have received any product from the New England Compounding Center (NECC) in Framingham, Massachusetts. The complete list can be found at: http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/FungalMeningitis/default.htm. In New York State, 215 providers have received NECC products. The list of providers and the NECC products they received can be found at: http://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/fungal_meningitis/.

The New York State Department of Health (DOH) has alerted all facilities in New York State that have received NECC products. Not all NECC products are considered at-risk. Products of concern are those that are normally assumed to be sterile and injected into the body. Health care providers are being asked to reach out to patients who may have received a product of concern. DOH has been coordinating efforts with local health departments, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the FDA to protect the health and safety of New Yorkers.

On October 1, 2012, DOH was contacted by CDC with regard to fungal meningitis cases in other states associated with certain lots of methylprednisolone acetate, a steroid, provided by NECC. DOH immediately contacted the three facilities in New York State that received lots of the steroid. Since then, as the investigation and recall expanded, DOH has contacted providers across the state, alerting them to remove products from use, to notify patients that may have received products of concern and to report patients that may be showing signs of fungal infection.

To date, DOH has identified one case associated with the recalled products from NECC- an individual from Nassau County who developed septic arthritis as a result of a steroid injection into a joint. The patient does not have meningitis and continues to receive treatment.