TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - State health officials say they've confirmed the first Florida death linked to a national meningitis outbreak.
The Florida Department of Health reported Tuesday that a 70-year old man died in July, before the discovery of the contaminated steroid medication authorities have linked to the infection. Officials say there are now six total cases in Florida, all in Marion County. More than 100 cases have been reported nationally, with about a dozen deaths.
Gov. Rick Scott said earlier Tuesday that authorities had contacted nearly 700 of the 1,185 patients linked to facilities that got tainted medicine in Marion, Miami-Dade, Orange and Escambia counties.
Health officials say as many as 13,000 people may have received tainted shots, and about 17,700 single-dose vials sent to 23 states have been recalled.
