Contaminated epidurals not sold in Washington

WENATCHEE - Patients who have had epidural injections of steroids from clinics in Washington and Oregon are not at risk for meningitis; the Massachusetts company that manufactured the contaminated medicine did not sell any of it in those states.

Wenatchee Valley Clinic Marketing Director Steph Grubich issued a press release after the clinic received some inquiries, she said. "We've had quite a few patients calling us, concerned," she said. Wenatchee Valley Clinic did not do business with New England Compounding Center, the company that made the contaminated medicine, she said.

"We checked our stock last week, and we don't use that company," said Jody Ulrich, nursing supervisor at Othello Community Hospital. The shots would be ordered by a physician and administered by an anesthetist, she said.

Wenatchee Valley Clinic gives the injections to patients for treatment of back and neck pain, Grubich said.

The meningitis outbreak claimed eight lives in four states as of Monday, according to the Centers for Disease Control website. There were 105 meningitis cases in nine states as of Monday afternoon.

The company did deliver some of the contaminated medicine to Emmett and Idaho Falls, Idaho, and four clinics in California, according to the CDC website.