Fla. Confirms 3 More Cases Of Fungal Meningitis

TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami) – Another three cases of fungal meningitis stemming from a tainted lot of methylprednisolone acetate (steroids) have been confirmed by the Florida Department of Health.

The state's Department of Health said the new cases are a 60-year-old man and a 36-year-old woman both of Escambia County and a 50-year-old man who received treatment in Marion County.

A total of 22 Floridians have contracted fungal meningitis, and three of those patients have died from the infection.

The nationwide outbreak of this rare disease is linked to contaminated steroids made by the New England Compounding Center in Massachusetts.

An investigation of how the medicine became tainted is underway.

Officials say the incubation period of the disease is 7 to 81 days after receiving the shots.

Nationwide, more than 300 people have contracted meningitis in 17 states and 23 have died.