A woman has died and four others have been hospitalized after liposuction and other cosmetic surgeries in Mexico.
The individuals, aged between 30 and 50, were diagnosed with fungal meningitis – swelling of the membrane surrounding the brain and spinal cord caused by a fungal infection.
They had all traveled from Texas to clinics in Matamoros, on the Mexican border, and three days to six weeks later developed the potentially deadly condition — which can cause seizures and coma.
US health officials have sounded the alarm over the cases, with surgeries taking place between February and April, urging Americans to cancel medical procedures in Matamoros.
It’s unclear what kind of fungus the patients were infected with, but C. auris cases are on the rise in the US due to hospitals failing to properly sterilize equipment.
A woman has died and four others have been hospitalized after cosmetic surgery, including liposuction, in Mexico. Health officials say the women were treated at clinics in Matamoros, Mexico, including River Side Surgical Center (left) and Clinica K-3 (right)
The map above shows the location of Matamoros, where the procedures took place. People are urged not to go there for medical procedures
About 1.2 million U.S. residents travel to Mexico each year to receive elective surgery at a discount, according to Medical Tourism Mexico, which advertises that patients can save up to 80% on a similar procedure in the U.S.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Texas Department of Health issued an alert on the cases on Tuesday.
They said each patient had an epidural, or when an anesthetic was injected into the area around the spinal cord to numb pain.
Clinics the women had visited included the River Side Surgical Center, which offers liposuction and Brazilian Butt lifts.
It was not clear at this stage whether the cases were related or where the patients had become infected. Officials are monitoring more cases.
The CDC sounded the alarm and urged anyone with a booked treatment in Matamoros involving an epidural injection to cancel the procedure.
The agency added that those treated there since January should watch for warning signs of meningitis.
Those concerned were told to talk to their doctor.
Dr. Jennifer Shuford, from the Texas Department of Health, said: ‘It is very important that people who have recently had medical procedures in Mexico check themselves for symptoms of meningitis.
“Meningitis, especially when caused by bacteria or fungi, can be a life-threatening illness unless treated quickly.”
There is a thriving medical tourism industry south of the US border where procedures can be offered at a fraction of the cost of those in the US.
Each year, about one million Americans cross the border to undergo medical procedures, according to figures.
Matamoros was also the site of the attack on four Americans in March, which left two dead.
Meningitis is the swelling of the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord due to an infection.
It can be caused by infection in these areas by fungi, including Blastomyces, which has caused an outbreak in Michigan, and Candida albicans, the fungus behind oral thrush.
Patients cannot spread the infection to others, but may experience symptoms such as fever, severe headache, stiff neck, and sensitivity to light.
Patients can have seizures, go into a coma and later die from the infection.
The women were diagnosed with fungal meningitis, or swelling of the membrane around the brain and spinal cord due to a fungal infection
Treatment involves administering courses of antifungal medications, usually given into a vein through an IV. They can take the drugs for six months to a year.
It comes after a victim of the Valley Fever fungus revealed his hell of five years of battling the disease.
Company owner Nick Duggan, 45, is one of about 20,000 people each year contracting the disease – caused by the fungus species Coccidioidomycosis, which scientists warn is becoming more common as the climate warms.
The Australian-born Australian most likely fell ill while quad biking in the San Diego desert in 2010, where he was visiting his wife’s family. He thinks he inhaled the mold spores that were kicked up in the dust.
By the time the doctors figured out what it was, the infection had spread to his spine and brain and caused meningitis, which left him bedridden for four months and in and out of the hospital for five years.