Local Patient Has 'Probable' Case of Meningitis

The Charleston area has South Carolina's first likely case of fungal meningitis linked to the national outbreak that has sickened more than 300 and killed 24 people across the country.

"We have learned that one of our patients ... displays symptoms consistent with the Centers for Disease Control assessment of 'possible fungal infection,' meaning that they have a probable, but not confirmed, case of fungal meningitis," reads a statement from interveneMD, which operates medical practices in Mount Pleasant and North Charleston.

The individual was one of 78 local patients treated by interveneMD with an epidural injection of methylprednisolone acetate implicated in the national fungal meningitis outbreak.

The individual, who is not identified in the news release, has been admitted to the hospital for medical treatment and is under close observation.

Like dozens of other medical practices, interveneMD received the potentially tainted medications from the New England Compounding Center. Earlier this month, the local practice began contacting patients to inform them that they may be at risk for infection.