1st Fungal Meningitis Case Reported In New Jersey

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey is reporting its first apparent case of fungal meningitis.

State health officials say a 70-year-old Cumberland County man is hospitalized with what is believed to be the illness. He received an injection of a steroid from one of the lots recalled by a specialty pharmacy in Massachusetts and tied to a meningitis outbreak.

Health officials say the man developed headaches and went to the emergency room with a fever. He is being treated with anti-fungal medication at South Jersey Healthcare Regional Medical Center in Vineland.

More than 100 cases of fungal meningitis linked to the recalled steroid have been reported in other states, including nine deaths.

New Jersey health officials say 650 patients in the state received shots of the potentially contaminated steroid. Symptoms appear one to four weeks after treatment.