A fungal meningitis outbreak at plastic surgery clinics in Mexico has infected dozens of people and caused seven deaths.
Many of the affected patients are young women from various states in the US, with the majority from Texas. Public health officials are urging those who may have been exposed to the infection to get tested, but there are concerns that not enough people are taking the risk seriously.
Symptoms of fungal meningitis can take weeks or even months to appear, and the specific duration of risk is uncertain. Doctors in a Texas county have observed a troubling complication where patients who seem to be recovering suddenly worsen.
These patients have shown problems with blood vessels in the brain, such as spasms and infections, which may be related to the particular fungus involved in the outbreak.
Some patients have experienced permanent vision loss and excessive fluid in the brain. Treatment involves months of antifungal therapy, but it's too early to determine the overall prognosis.
The medications used for treatment can also have side effects, including hallucinations and organ problems. The situation in Texas mirrors a previous fungal meningitis outbreak in Durango, Mexico, where similar complications were observed.
The surprising complications observed in patients affected by the fungal meningitis outbreak associated with the cosmetic clinics in Mexico include neurovascular complications and blood vessel problems in the brain. These complications were reported by various doctors and health officials involved in treating the patients.
Dr Jose Campo Maldonado, an infectious disease specialist at Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen, Texas, noticed that infected patients were experiencing issues with blood vessels in the brain, such as spasms of the arteries or mycotic aneurysms (infection of the blood vessel walls).
“Practically all the patients that we have seen in the hospital have some sort of neurovascular complications,” he told NBC News.
Dr Ivan Melendez, the public health authority for Hidalgo County in Texas, and Dr James Castillo, the health authority for Cameron County in Texas, also reported the occurrence of these complications in patients.
The specific cause of these complications is not yet fully understood, but it is suggested that the Fusarium solani organism responsible for the outbreak may have a special affinity for the blood vessels in the brain.
However, further testing and investigation would be required to confirm this hypothesis. The complications observed in some patients have led to permanent vision loss and hydrocephalus (excess fluid in the brain).
Additionally, the treatment for fungal meningitis involves several months of antifungal therapy, which can have side effects including hallucinations, kidney problems, and liver problems. These side effects make the recovery process more challenging for the affected patients.
