MeSH D016921 | ||
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Fungal meningitis refers to meningitis caused by a fungal infection.
One form of fungal meningitis is cryptococcal meningitis. Patients treated for cancer or chronic illnesses where treatments and/or the disease itself compromise the patient's immune system are particularly vulnerable. Most common in AIDS patients, cryptococcal fungal meningitis cases have increased globally during the past decade. National health data estimates the incidence to be approximately 1,500 cases annually in the U.S.
New England Compounding Center meningitis outbreak
As of November 5, 2012, the CDC reported that 409 patients had laboratory-confirmed fungal meningitis caused by injections with contaminated medication.There had been 30 fatalities. A black mold, Exserohilum rostratum, was found in 45 of these cases. Aspergillus fumigatus was found in one case, and a Cladosporium species was found in one case. Aspergillus has been very rarely associated with meningitis while cases caused explicitly by Exserohilum in otherwise healthy individuals have not been previously reported.