Do you remember the 2012 outbreak of fungal meningitis caused by contaminated steroids?

All fixed today. Cannot happen. Phew.

Photo by Etactics Inc on Unsplash

This story is about a 2012 multistate outbreak of fungal meningitis caused by contaminated steroid injections. Back then, even the CDC said so.

Biological contamination of medical products: a larger picture

I intend to keep pounding the topic of biologically contaminated medical products. Why? Because I believe that this under-the-radar disaster is harming millions of people, and while the “official science” is coming up with various fancy syndromes that they are pulling straight out of their arses (convince me otherwise, please), the root cause of suffering is being shoved under the rug so that the heartless, empty-eyed predators can “spin” the story in due time their way—to push for more (potentially contaminated) vaccines. Why? Because they can, that’s why.

(In my opinion, the root cause is two-fold. It’s a cruel double whammy. On the one hand, our immune systems are being nuked with poisons and EMFs—and on the other hand, people are being “treated” to contaminated medical products, including vaccines.)

Personally, I tend to believe that the issue of biological contamination of medical products (especially injectables) was already abysmally horrible before 2020—but now, due to the overall standard nose dive and dignity free fall and all, it is out of control. (Just think about the possible mycoplasma contamination of vaccines, discussed by Garth Nicolson before any COVID, many times—and this very trendy outbreak of mycoplasma pneumonia that is going around. A coincidence? Maybe, maybe not.

For context and my strategic thoughts, I encourage you to read my earlier articles on the subject. I have quietly worked on it for a year before writing it up. I believe in clarity and tacking problems without fear.

The 2012 outbreak

Like I said, even the CDC admitted (kinda sorta) that the outbreak was linked to contaminated steroids.

In September 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in collaboration with state and local health departments and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), began investigating a multistate outbreak of fungal meningitis and other infections among patients who received contaminated preservative-free MPA steroid injections from the New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Massachusetts.

The investigation includes fungal meningitis … localized spinal or paraspinal infections, such as epidural abscess and arachnoiditis, and infections associated with injections in a peripheral joint space, such as a knee, shoulder, or ankle.

The predominant fungus identified in patients is Exserohilum rostratum. One patient, the index case, had a laboratory-confirmed Aspergillus fumigatus infection. […]

On October 6, 2012 NECC voluntarily recalled all products compounded at and distributed from its facility in Framingham, Massachusetts. […]

On October 31, 2012 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that Ameridose, LLC, based in Westborough, Mass., voluntarily recalled all of its unexpired products in circulation.

Also this:

On October 11, 2012, FDA released a MedWatch Alert stating that samples of injectable betamethasone and cardioplegia solution tested positive for bacterial contamination. The FDA and CDC laboratories have identified bacteria and/or fungi present in NECC-supplied preservative-free injectable betamethasone, preservative-free triamcinolone, and cardioplegia solution. […]

FDA released a MedWatch Safety Alert [Page Not Found now and not on the WayBack Machine] on October 15 stating that the sterility of any injectable drugs, including ophthalmic drugs that are injectable or used in conjunction with eye surgery, and cardioplegia solutions produced by NECC is of significant concern. […]

CDC also says this, which I would define as a bit of a word salad as some of the statements contradict one another:

CDC recommends that clinicians remain vigilant for the possibility that infections may have resulted from injection of NECC products, and that routine laboratory and microbiologic tests, including bacterial and fungal cultures, should be obtained as necessary by treating clinicians.

There has been no prior regular surveillance for adverse events following epidural steroid injections; however, infection is a known, although likely rare, risk that has been documented in the medical literature.   Although CDC has received reports of illness in patients who have received the medications listed in the table above, including some patients who had evidence of meningeal inflammation, CDC and public health officials have no reports of laboratory-confirmed bacterial or fungal meningitis, spinal, or paraspinal infections caused by these products.  The available epidemiological and laboratory data do not, at this time, support evidence of an outbreak of infections linked to usage of non-methylprednisolone NECC products.

However, because it is possible that some of the organisms listed in the table above can cause human disease, clinicians should continue to include bacterial and/or fungal infection in the differential diagnosis when evaluating symptomatic patients who were exposed to these medications, including consideration of empiric anti-bacterial and/or antifungal therapy.

Consultation with an infectious disease specialist is strongly encouraged to help make diagnosis and treatment decisions in these cases.  If the evaluation of these patients is suggestive of fungal infection, please consult existing CDC treatment guidance associated with this outbreak.

It is very hard to say today with precision what actually happened. I really don’t know, and I am not going to pretend I know. But we know that somebody went to jail for it, and it wasn’t any big name. And maybe the person who went to jail for it was really to blame. We don’t know. But we know that when that same thing is done on a massive scale, no one goes to jail, unless their individual time with the mob is up—n which case they do go to jail and sometimes die but in a way that doesn’t harm the machine. (A side story: in 2021, David Stonebrook filed a lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies alleging unsanitary conditions and potential mold contamination in relation to components used for COVID vaccines; they have since filed a counter-lawsuit against him, alleging contract breach and defamation. I hope that the justice wins. If it happens, it will be an amazing surprise.)

The CNN resurfaced the story in 2022:

A former co-owner of a Massachusetts compounding pharmacy was sentenced Thursday for what authorities said was his role in a deadly, multistate fungal meningitis outbreak in 2012.

Gregory Conigliaro, 57, was sentenced in the US District Court in Boston to one year in prison and one year of supervised release after a jury convicted him in 2018 of conspiracy to defraud the United States, the US Attorney’s Office for Massachusetts said.

Conigliaro was co-owner, vice president and general manager of the now-defunct New England Compounding Center, which authorities said was behind the outbreak.

Nearly 800 people in 20 states were diagnosed with fungal meningitis or other fungal infections in 2012 after receiving injections from contaminated vials of medicine manufactured by the NECC, the US Attorney’s Office said.

The medication was preservative-free methylprednisolone acetate, a steroid. More than 100 patients have died, making it the largest public health crisis caused by a pharmaceutical drug, according to the US Attorney’s Office.

I am afraid that it wasn’t really the largest public health crisis caused by a pharmaceutical drug. I mean look around. But my point is, contaminated pharmaceutical products are very much a reality, and we should watch out.

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