N.D. facilities got meningitis-linked products

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The state Health Department says six North Dakota pharmacies or clinics have received products from a Massachusetts company associated with a national meningitis outbreak.

The department has informed facilities in Williston, Fargo and Grand Forks of new federal recommendations on New England Compounding Co. products.

Only three lots of medications, none of which were shipped to North Dakota, were originally implicated in the outbreak. But the Health Department says additional cases of meningitis reported in other states indicate other medications may also be causing meningitis.

The Health Department is endorsing federal recommendations that health-care providers notify any patients who may have received any injectable or ophthalmic medication produced or purchased on or after May 21, and advise them to seek care if they develop symptoms of meningitis or joint infection.

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