A total of eight women have died from aseptic meningitis in the Mexican city of Durango, located in the state of the same name in the northeast of the country, while 57 other cases have been reported as a result of a fungus present in a local anesthetic, bupivacaine.
The latest victim was a 28-year-old woman who was treated for the first time in August and her increasing discomfort required specialized medical attention, although in the end her life could not be saved, according to the newspaper ‘Milenio’.
Aseptic meningitis inflames the tissues of the brain and spinal cord and is usually caused by a viral infection, however on this occasion the origin is a fungus, according to the Durango Health Secretariat (SSD). Patients often present with symptoms such as fever, nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light and neck stiffness.
According to the same media report, four hospitals are already under the custody of the Durango State Attorney General’s Office. In addition, medicines have been seized and interventions involving the application of local anesthesia in private hospitals in the state have been suspended, according to ‘El Financiero’, since several of the victims had been operated on in these centers.
