Local doctors in a tiny Texas county have seen an alarming pattern as public health officials continue to urge everyone who may have been exposed to fungal meningitis at two Mexican cosmetic clinics to get tested. Some individuals’ symptoms may suddenly worsen while taking a previously effective medication.Â
According to the CDC and reported by NBC News, seven people died as a result of the fungal meningitis outbreak at these two Mexican surgical facilities. The outbreak, which has been linked to epidural anesthesia in surgical procedures, has infected over three dozen people and cost the lives of seven. It is presently unknown how many individuals are hospitalized in the United States at any given moment. Young women are disproportionately represented among the victims, and they appear to have sought cosmetic surgery at these facilities between January and May.Â
The state of Texas has the greatest population of persons infected with the pandemic. Dr. Ivan Melendez, the public health director for Hidalgo County in Texas, is concerned about people who have been exposed but are ignoring the hazard. Despite widespread knowledge, only approximately half of people who should have had a spinal tap to screen for meningitis have received one.Â
Unlike bacterial and viral meningitis, fungal meningitis symptoms do not show until much later. A fungal infection’s symptoms may not manifest for up to a year after the illness has been established. The CDC has been reticent to provide an exact date when individuals would be able to resume routine activities without concern.Â
Cameron County, in southern Texas, has reported three of the seven deaths; according to Dr. James Castillo, the county health authority, just half of the 54 identified patients have undergone the spinal tap.Â
Fusarium solani, a rare fungus, has been isolated from a few people and is thought to be the source of the outbreak. An outbreak of fungal meningitis raced through the Mexican state of Durango in November of the previous year, killing nearly half of those sick. This is the infectious fungus that is causing the outbreak.Â
Dr. Jose Campo Maldonado, an infectious disease expert at Valley Baptist Medical Center, uncovered a distressing discovery about ill patients. He claimed that these people had vascular abnormalities in their brains, such as artery spasms or mycotic aneurysms (infections of the arterial walls). When doctors at Valley Baptist Medical Center saw that some of their patients were improving before taking an abrupt turn for the worse, they decided to check on all of them. According to Dr. Castillo, patients frequently had stroke-like symptoms such as abrupt unconsciousness. However, the fundamental source of these brainstem abnormalities remains unclear.Â
Although fungal meningitis is less prevalent than bacterial meningitis, it nevertheless poses a risk to blood vessels and should be addressed carefully. Fusarium solani, a fungus, may prefer to develop in the blood veins of the brain, according to Dr. Campo Maldonado. This idea, however, requires more research before it can be broadly accepted. CDC experts stated that more than half of the patients affected with a fungal meningitis outbreak in Durango, Mexico, did not survive in a recent phone chat with Dr. Campo Maldonado.Â
Hydrocephalus is defined by an abnormal accumulation of fluid in the brain and, in some cases, results in irreversible blindness. Because Dr. Campo Maldonado claims that treating fungal meningitis takes three to six months of antifungal medication, it is too early to determine the whole prognosis for people seeking treatment. Patients may have hallucinations, renal difficulties, or liver problems, among other undesirable side effects.Â
In Cameron County, around 40% of confirmed cases resulted in death. Dr. Campo Maldonado stated that none of the approximately twelve documented cases at local hospitals had been released owing to problems. According to Dr. Melendez, all three confirmed Hidalgo County patients are doing well at home and will continue therapy for some time.Â
