Gay meningitis outbreaks

[novasteve]

West Hollywood officials warn gay men, residents of meningitis case - latimes.com

 

[Katzndogz]

I saw this on the news last night. Authorities think that he picked it up at a gay festival in Palm Springs. This is following a similar outbreak of meningitis on the east coast.

The scoop from the CDC on the deadly NYC meningitis outbreak

As you may recall, we’ve been reporting on increasingly scary warnings out of New York that a particularly deadly variant of meningococcal disease (bacterial meningitis) was showing up in gay men in New York. The New York authorities are now recommending vaccinations for gay men in New York City who are either HIV-positive, or HIV-negative and non-monogamous. The vaccination warning also includes men in the two categories above who visited New York City at any time since September of 2012.

 

[BlueGin]

Yep...I heard about this for the first time last month. Posted an article. The symptoms (other than the rash) seem pretty normal for a cold or flu....yet if left untreated for a long period of time can cause brain damage. Some may think that just by getting vaccinated against meningitis they are safe...but apparently if in constant contact with people who have this,they would need further treatments.


http://www.usmessageboard.com/healt...gitis-spreading-via-anonymous-sex-in-nyc.html

 

[007]

West Hollywood officials warn gay men, residents of meningitis case - latimes.com

So... "happy" men are catching this?

 

[Sunni Man]

This shouldn't be a big surprise.

Homosexual are basically walking disease containers.

 

[novasteve]

Should the state protect them from themselves?

 

[Katzndogz]

The state is responsible and should pay for all medical care.

 

[BlueGin]

Another article I ran across this afternoon.


California man diagnosed with meningitis is brain dead


LOS ANGELES – A 33-year-old West Hollywood man who felt sickened by bacterial meningitis earlier this week has been declared brain dead amid warnings to sexually active gay men about the deadly strain of illness, officials said.

Brett Shaad was declared brain dead but remained on life support Friday afternoon, said Elizabeth Ashford, a spokeswoman for Shaad's family. She declined to release further details.

That corrected a statement made earlier in the day by West Hollywood Councilman John Duran who said Shaad had died and had been removed from life support.

Duran said later that friends who were in Shaad's hospital room since told him that he was declared brain dead.

Duran, who saw Shaad last weekend, described the openly gay man as being "robust and healthy" prior to Monday, when he began to feel sick.

On Wednesday, he went into the emergency room. By Thursday, he was in a coma.



Read more: California man diagnosed with meningitis is brain dead | Fox News

 

[mamooth]

Drove my friend home from the computer lab. She said she felt like she was getting the flu, the lights hurt her eyes, her neck hurt. Textbook list of symptoms, but I had no clue. Dropped her off at her house. Her roommates found her the next morning, unconscious and convulsing. Bacterial meningitis.

She pulled through, but it was a very close thing. And if I had known the symptoms, it could have been caught earlier. Young adults especially, flu-like symptoms, neck pain, light sensitivity. Essentially, any young adult should not be left alone if they've got flu-like symptoms.

 

[waltky]

NECC co-owner gets 9 years for meningitis outbreak...

Pharmacy boss blamed for meningitis outbreak gets 9 years
June 26, 2017 — The co-owner of a pharmacy deemed responsible for the deaths of 76 people in a national meningitis outbreak tearfully apologized to the victims on Monday and was sentenced to nine years in prison, far less than the victims had wanted.

"I'm sorry for your extraordinary losses," Barry Cadden said, wiping his eyes. A dozen victims who were sickened or lost loved ones asked the judge to give Cadden the harshest penalty allowed under the law for the deadly 2012 nationwide fungal meningitis outbreak, which sickened hundreds of people. Cadden was acquitted of second-degree murder charges under federal racketeering law but was convicted on conspiracy and fraud charges. He must report to prison by Aug. 7 but remains free on bond until then. The outbreak was traced to contaminated injections of medical steroids made by the New England Compounding Center in Framingham. Prosecutors say Cadden, 50, ran the center in a dangerous way by skirting industry regulations on sterility in an effort to push production and make more money. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Strachan said the center was "a massive reckless and fraudulent organization."

At Cadden's sentencing Monday, victims told stories of shattered lives and unbearable loss caused by the tainted steroids made by Cadden's company. Penny Laperriere, whose husband died after receiving a contaminated steroid shot, said Cadden destroyed her family. "Who gave him the right to play God?" the Michigan woman said. She said her husband, Lyn, received the shot to try to get relief from his back pain. He died in 2012. Prosecutors asked the judge to sentence Cadden to 35 years in prison. Cadden's lawyer said he should get 2 1/2 to 3 years. The outbreak of fungal meningitis and other infections in 20 states was traced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to contaminated injections of medical steroids, given mostly to people with back pain.

The CDC put the death toll at 64 as of October 2013. Federal prosecutors say 12 more people have died since then, raising the total to 76. More than 700 people were sickened. Indiana, Michigan and Tennessee were hit hardest. One of those who died was longtime Kentucky judge Eddie C. Lovelace, whose widow, Joyce Lovelace, told her story to Congress. The scandal prompted increased scrutiny on compounding pharmacies, which differ from ordinary drugstores in that they custom-mix medications and supply them directly to hospitals and doctors. In 2013, in reaction to the outbreak, Congress increased federal oversight of such pharmacies. Federal prosecutor Amanda Strachan told the jury during the two-month trial that the deaths and illnesses happened because Cadden "decided to put profits before patients."

NECC used expired ingredients and falsified logs to make it look as if the so-called clean rooms had been disinfected, prosecutors said. After the outbreak, regulators found multiple potential sources of contamination, including standing water and mold and bacteria in the air and on workers' gloved fingertips. Cadden's lawyer, Bruce Singal, told the jury Cadden was not responsible for the deaths and pointed the finger at Glenn Chin, a supervisory pharmacist who ran the clean rooms where drugs were made. Chin has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to go on trial in September. NECC filed for bankruptcy after getting hit with hundreds of lawsuits. NECC and several related companies reached a $200 million settlement with victims and their families.

Source