‘Medical Tourism’ Could Be Bringing Meningitis to Your Urgent Care Center

It’s not uncommon for patients to travel to other countries to seek care, often because certain procedures may be less expensive than in the U.S. ‘Medical tourism,’ as it’s called, has certain inherent risk, however, such as availability of follow-up care and flying home too soon after a procedure and increasing risk for blood clots. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified a more specific problem that’s of immediate concern, however. The CDC is monitoring more than 200 patients in 24 states and the District of Columbia due to concerns for fungal meningitis that could be linked to surgical procedures performed in Matamoros, Mexico. Two U.S. patients died after receiving care there, and right now the CDC says there are nine suspected cases and nine probable cases in other patients who returned from that border town. Having discovered that those patients all underwent procedures with epidural anesthesia at two clinics in Matamoroa, the agency is now looking at 221 similar cases. It would be advisable for urgent care providers to inquire about recent travel when patients present with symptoms suspicious for fungal meningitis, such as fever, headache, stiff neck, nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light, and confusion.