Victims Blocked From Needed Care

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Five years later Vicki Scott, a Virginia victim of the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak, is still suffering after effects of the original disease and the powerful anti-fungal drugs used to treat it, but she, like many other outbreak victims, is finding it increasingly difficult to get medical care.
In recent interviews Scott, a Roanoke resident, cited repeated instances of physicians and other health care providers either refusing to even give her an appointment or cancelling a scheduled visit before she could even get in the door.
She is not alone.
Terri Lewis, a Tennessee resident who has taken on the role of advocate for dozens in similar situations, there are victims from many other states including Indiana and Kentucky where they are having difficulty getting needed follow up care.
"She's been blackballed," Lewis said of Vicki Scott.
Lewis also blames federal agencies for failing to take an active role in helping victims get needed care.
"They clearly didn't do their jobs," she added.
As for the victims, Lewis said many are continuing to experience multiple health problems related both to the original disease - in many cases fungal meningitis - and the lingering health issues caused by Voriconazole, or other antifungal drugs.
The 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak sickened at least 778 patients, killing 76 of them. It was caused by highly contaminated vials of a steroid called methylprednisolone acetate, which was produced as a now defunct Massachusetts drug compounding company. The steroids were injected into the spines and joints of unsuspecting patients in more than 20 states.
Scott says some have even questioned whether she really was a victim, even though her medical records indicate she was being treated for fungal meningitis.
Lewis noted that another roadblock facing victims is the ongoing efforts to reduce or eliminate pain treatment with opiods.
"Many doctors are afraid to prescribe those drugs," Lewis said, adding that federal regulators are "criminalizing pain care. A lot of these patients have no alternatives.
Scott, who describes herself as "very angry and upset," says she really doesn't know where to turn for help.
When she questioned officials at one area health facility about the reason her appointments were cancelled, she said she was told she should never have been given an appointment in the first place.