US: Meningitis outbreak death toll rises to 7

The New England Compounding Center is shown here on October 5, 2012 in Framingham, Massachusetts. The pharmacy is currently being investigated for producing a contaminated steroid shot that included the meningitis fungus that has killed at least five people. AFP

ATLANTA – Health officials said the death toll in a rare fungal meningitis outbreak across several states has risen to seven.

In updated figures posted to its website Saturday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the outbreak has spread to more than 60 people across nine states.

Minnesota and Ohio are the two latest states to report confirmed cases linked to a steroid produced by a specialty pharmacy in Massachusetts. The steroid has been recalled, and health officials have been scrambling to notify anyone who may have been injected with it.

The New England Compounding Center has said it is cooperating with health investigators to determine the source of the infections.