Mexican police have arrested an anaesthesiologist and two others linked to a recent meningitis outbreak, which has killed at least 35 women and hospitalised another 79 people with infections.
The trio was arrested in the state of Durango, reports TimesLIVE, with prosecutors accusing them of distributing infected medicines they believe led to the mysterious outbreak.
The doctor is charged with illegal re-use of drugs at the private hospitals where he worked. A co-accused is charged with mismanaging drugs, failure to ensure proper hygiene, as well as allowing operating rooms to fall into disrepair, and the other is charged with failure to comply with professional requirements.
Durango prosecutor Sonia Garza said the affected patients in Durango were probably infected by fungal meningitis while undergoing procedures in the same hospitals where the doctor worked. She said patients were probably first infected last August after many were administered anaesthesia for obstetric procedures.
“This specialist carried out procedures with no restraint,” said Garza, saying he had brought his own medication for patients, including unauthorised controlled drugs.
The detained doctor was the only physician who conducted procedures at the four hospitals where patients were infected, she said, adding that at a hearing, he had denied using his own medications.
The cases have raised concern in both Mexico and from international bodies after the outbreak’s first casualty was confirmed last November.
The first case in the area was confirmed late last year when doctors diagnosed several cases of aseptic meningitis, an especially harmful inflammation of the brain.
The infected patients had all undergone surgeries involving spinal anaesthesia in private hospitals, according to data local officials reported to the World Health Organisation.
Health authorities have reported new cases almost daily since the beginning of this year, as well as hospitalisations and fatalities caused by the disease, reports Reuters.
The Times article – Doctor accused of spreading deadly meningitis arrested in Mexico (Open access)
Reuters article – Death toll from mysterious meningitis outbreak in Mexico at 35 (Open access)
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