Meningitis outbreak reaching WNY

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - A deadly Meningitis outbreak is widening and reaching closer to home here in Western New York.

More than 100 people have become sick throughout the country; 11 of them have now died.

News 4's Diana Fairbanks and medical expert Dr. Peter Ostrow answered some of your questions about who is at risk.

Q: Doctor, how serious is the threat here in WNY?
A: One of the centers that used the potentially contaminated steroid was in Rochester, and they're contacting all their patients to warn them. The State Health Department reports that 425 people in NYS have received those shots, but so far, there haven't been any cases of Meningitis.

Q: About 13,000 nationwide may be at risk. I have to believe we will see even more cases of Fungal Meningitis, but for how long?
A: We'll definitely see more cases over the next few weeks. It's only been 2 weeks since the shots were recalled, and it may take a month or more after the injection for symptoms to begin. But, also not all the shots may have been contaminated, and the two types of fungi that are responsible are not usually very dangerous to people who have a healthy immune system.

Q: Doc, before this story I had never even heard of Fungal Meningitis. Why is it causing such a problem?
A: These fungi are common in the environment. We come in contact with them every day and they don't usually cause disease. But, when they're injected directly into the area around the spinal cord, that's when they can infect the nervous system.

Q: What are the symptoms? What should people look for?
A: Meningitis involved the coverings of the brain and spinal cord. In ordinary types of Meningitis, you get a fever, a stiff neck, a headache, and they come on very rapidly. In this outbreak, the symptoms develop more slowly and may be mild at first, so a person who's had the injection and has any sort of symptom should contact a doctor immediately.

Q: Just to be clear, you can't catch this from someone, right?
A: That's right, it is absolutely not contagious.

Q: And if you need an injection for back pain, is it safe to get one?
A: Should be, the contaminated batches have been recalled.