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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A meningitis outbreak linked to epidural steroid injections that so far is affecting the eastern half of the United States is continuing to grow, with health officials continuing to monitor patients in the North Coast region who received the steroids.
On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta reported that the outbreak of fungal meningitis cases linked to contaminated methylprednisolone acetate injectable steroids had grown to 105 cases across nine states, with eight deaths.
No cases have so far been reported in California, the agency said.
Affected states included Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia, according to the CDC, which is coordinating the investigation into the outbreak.
The CDC said the manufacturer of the methylprednisolone acetate injections, New England Compounding Center located in Framingham, Mass., began a voluntary recall of the drugs on Sept. 26.
State and federal officials said 75 health care facilities in 23 states received the contaminated product.
In California, four health facilities received the drug, which is used as an epidural injection for chronic pain.
Among them was Ukiah Valley Medical Center, which last week sent out letters to patients notifying them of the issues, as Lake County News has reported.
Also receiving the compound in California were the Cypress Surgery Center in Visalia, the Encino Outpatient Surgical Center and Universal Pain Management in Palmdale, the CDC reported.
To date, no patients have been admitted to UVMC with meningitis-type symptoms as a result of receiving this compound, the hospital said Monday.
Meningitis is a swelling of the meninges, the protective covering of the brain and spinal cord.
The CDC said infected patients have developed a variety of symptoms approximately one to four weeks following their injection. The symptoms include fever, new or worsening headache and nausea. Some also have suffered strokes.
The CDC investigation thus far has revealed that the meningitis linked to the steroid injections was caused by a fungus that is common in the environment but rarely causes meningitis. The source of the fungus, however, has not been identified.
Officials said the fungal meningitis in this outbreak is not contagious.
Anyone who has had one of the epidural steroid injections since May 21 should talk to their doctor immediately if they experience a worsening headache, fever, sensitivity to light, stiff neck, new weakness or numbness in any part of your body or slurred speech, according to the CDC.
In a Monday statement, UVMC said it selected the New England Compounding Center in spite of a 75 percent higher cost for the compounded medication because the center is a specialized “compounding-only pharmacy” dedicated to providing medications and services to patients and prescribers.
“The team of registered pharmacists at UVMC did not choose the product based on price,” according to Heather Van Housen, UVMC’s patient care executive.
“The product was selected because it contains no preservatives or buffers that other pharmaceutical manufacturers offer that may cause higher risk of infection or other complications,” Van Housen said.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – As California’s gas prices continue to climb, the governor has taken action to try to push down prices and the state’s U.S senators asked federal officials for investigations into potential price spiking.
In response to the rising gas prices – which officials said are up due to shutdowns at the Tesoro and Exxon refineries – Gov. Jerry Brown on Sunday directed the California Air Resources Board to take emergency steps to increase the state’s gasoline supply and bring down fuel prices.
Specifically, Brown directed the board to immediately allow oil refineries to make an early transition to winter-blend gasoline, which typically isn’t sold until after Oct. 31. It evaporates more quickly than the gasoline sold in summer months.
“Gas prices in California have risen to their highest levels ever, with unacceptable cost impacts on consumers and small businesses,” said Brown.
On Monday Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Sen. Barbara Boxer both made their appeals for investigations. Boxer made her request to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Oil and Gas Price Fraud Working Group, while Feinstein sent a second letter to Jon Leibowitz, chairman of the Federal Trade Commission.
“Californians have too often been victimized as unscrupulous traders have created or taken advantage of supply disruptions to drive up energy prices,” Boxer wrote to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. “We cannot allow market manipulation by those who would seek to profit off the pain of our families at the pump.”
In her letter to Leibowitz, Feinstein wrote, “California commuters are facing the highest gas prices and the longest commutes in the country. Paying hundreds of dollars to fill your tank every time you go to the pump is untenable, particularly because it does not appear the price spike and supply disruption are related to supply and demand.”
California already has the highest gas prices in the nation, according to Gasbuddy.com, which tracks gas prices and the petroleum industry around the United States.
A map of California counties showed that Lake’s gas prices are in the bottom third of the state, ranging between $4.63 and $4.70, according to Gasbuddy.com’s data.
On Monday, Lake County News posted this question on its Facebook page: “In your travels around Lake County, what is the highest gas price you've seen and where was it?”
Readers responded that prices around the county ranged from a low of $4.33 in Lakeport to a high of $5.19 in Kelseyville. Middletown prices also were reported to have crept over the $5 mark.
Boxer’s letter to Holder acknowledged California refineries’ maintenance issues – including the shutdown of Chevron’s Richmond refinery in August as the result of a fire, the power outage at Exxon Mobil’s Torrance refinery and last month’s shutdown of a Chevron pipeline that supplies crude from the Central Valley to the Bay Area.
However, she pointed out that there were price spikes earlier this year due to similar maintenance issues for West Coast refineries, and noted, “it is critical that we ensure that these shutdowns are not part of any broader effort to deliberately keep gasoline supplies tight – and prices high – at the expense of consumers.”
In her letter to the Federal Trade Commission, Feinstein noted, “California’s consumers are all too familiar with energy price spikes which cannot be explained by market fundamentals, and which turn out years later to have been the result of malicious and manipulative trading activity. It is with this history in mind that I call on the FTC to act immediately and aggressively to protect California’s consumers.”
Brown’s action to direct an early transition to winter-blend gasoline could increase California’s fuel supply by up to an estimated 8 to 10 percent with only negligible air quality impacts, according to the Governor’s Office.
The Exxon refinery came back online Friday and Tesoro is scheduled to resume production early next week, which the Governor’s Office anticipated will stabilize and reduce fuel prices across California.
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LAKEPORT, Calif. – The second annual Home and Business Disaster Expo will take place on Saturday, Oct. 13.
The expo will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Mendo Mill & Lumber, 2645 S. Main St., Lakeport.
The goal of the event is to educate the public and businesses on how to make a plan, become prepared and stay informed during a disaster or emergency.
Booths at the expo will have both private business and government agencies available to share information, handouts, materials and products that will be needed or used during a disaster.
This year’s participants will include North Lake Medical Pharmacy, Sutter Lakeside Hospital, Lake County Amateur Radio Society, American Red Cross, Servpro of Lake and Mendocino counties, Lake County Waste Solutions, Amerigas, Paul Davis Restoration, Hands on Volunteer Network, DFM Car Stereo and Cellular, T-Mobile, Vietnam Veterans of America and Pacific Gas & Electric Co.
Mendo Mill will conduct drawings for prizes and the Lakeport Police Department will be cooking hot dogs and giving out bottled water, which will be available to the first 300 visitors.
Disasters can, and do, happen in Lake County.
In August, Lake County experienced the Wye Fire, which burned 7,934 acres, destroyed several structures and closed Highway 20, one of the main roadways into the county, for a significant time. The fast-moving fire caused an evacuation order to be given to many local residents.
The following month, hundreds of evacuations again were ordered when the Scotts Fire burned toward Blue Lakes. That fire burned a total of 4,618 acres.
Come find out about defensible space around your home. Planning for an evacuation, making a list of what to pack when leaving your residence, and evacuating in reaction to fires, flooding, hazardous materials incidents, storms and even earthquakes can – and should – be planned for ahead of time.
Attend and find out how to prepare, make a plan and be informed to keep you family safe.
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SPRING VALLEY, Calif. – A vegetation fire in Spring Valley on Monday afternoon burned several acres but didn’t damage any homes thanks to a quick response by local and state firefighters.
The fire was reported shortly before 2 p.m. in the area of 2604 Indian Hill Road, according to radio reports.
Reports from the scene indicated the fire was making a run from River View Road up to Indian Hill Road, heading for structures.
Northshore Fire Chief Jay Beristianos said Northshore Fire sent two chief officers, two engines and a water tender, and Lake County Fire sent one unit.
Cal Fire also responded to the incident. Beristianos did not have an exact count of resources from Cal Fire, but radio reports indicated the agency sent ground crews and had air resources dispatched, including air tankers that were canceled while en route.
Just before 2:10 p.m. the fire was reported to be contained, radio reports indicated.
Beristianos said the total fire size was about three to four acres.
While a report from the scene initially had indicated a structure was burned, Beristianos said that in the final assessment no structures were damaged.
He said the fire appeared to have started in a backyard area between several properties, in the vicinity of some power lines.
The cause remains under investigation, Beristianos said.
Fire units remained on scene after 4 p.m. for mop up, according to radio traffic.
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