Pharmacy owners in Massachusetts arrested, charged in meningitis outbreak

More than a dozen owners and employees at a Massachusetts compounding pharmacy have been arrested and charged in connection with the deadly 2012 national meningitis outbreak.

The Associated Press reported that 14 people from the New England Compounding Center were taken into custody Wednesday.

The New York Times noted that the charges against those arrested have been outlined in a 131-count indictment. Some of the charges include racketeering, conspiracy, mail fraud, the introduction of adulterated and misbranded drugs into interstate commerce and second-degree murder.

Two years ago, 64 people died from fungal meningitis after receiving steroid injections distributed by the compound pharmacy. Patients who received the treatment began experiencing the classic meningitis symptoms of headache, fever, stiff neck and a sensitivity to bright lights.

Authorities later found that the steroids were contaminated and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention linked more than 750 cases in 20 different states directly to the injections.

The New England Compounding Center has since closed.

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