Chicago doctor expects more meningitis cases
A Chicago doctor who has done spinal taps on two patients to rule out fungal meningitis says he expects to see more cases in Illinois as testing continues.
Northwestern emergency medicine Dr. Rahul Khare says the patients he tested were frightened, but the tests showed nothing abnormal. The patients had received back pain injections of a steroid linked to an outbreak of deadly meningitis.
Khare says the patients or their health insurance plans are paying for the testing.
Illinois reported Saturday that a Chicago resident is the state's first probable case of meningitis linked to the outbreak. Illinois Department of Public Health spokeswoman Melaney Arnold says the patient is in the hospital and receiving treatment.
An estimated 350 Illinoisans may have been exposed to the product.