An estimated 14,000 people who may have received a tainted steroid injection used to treat back and joint pain are watching and waiting to see if they too develop a potentially deadly condition known as fungal meningitis. So far 233 cases of the disease have been confirmed, with 16 deaths reported. Jennifer Mitchell has this update on what authorities are saying about patients in Maine.

According to the National Centers for Disease Control, 23 states received batches of the steroid drug linked to the fungal meningitis outbreak, made by the New England Compounding Center in Massachusetts.

"The product that was associated with the disease was not distributed to Maine and was not used in Maine," says state epidemiologist Dr. Stephen Sears.

That's the good news, Sears says. The bad news is that some clinics in New Hampshire did receive the drug, and some of them treated patients from Maine.

"At the moment, there is one individual from Maine who we would define in the 'probable' category, but is not confirmed, in that there has been no growth of any fungal elements and they're just being evaluated by physicians now," Sears says.

In fact, 74 people from Maine are known to have received injections in New Hampshire, and are being monitored closely for any symptoms of fungal meningitis. Some of these patients, says Sears, may have received the less-risky injections into knees and other joints; others received the higher-risk spinal injections to treat back pain.

In all, New Hampshire officials say about 750 patients receiving treatment in the state may have been exposed to the tainted steroid. So far, six cases of the disease have been confirmed there.

"The game has changed dramatically in the last 24 hours," says Gordon Smith, executive vice president of the Maine Medical Association. He says that the FDA has recalled all the products by the New Engalnd Compounding Center, and are recommending that practitioners send all potentially affected patients a letter. Smith says that could be a problem, because lots of doctors have used products from NECC.

"You don't want to alarm patients if there's no reason for alarm," Smith says. "On the other hand, there will be hesitancy on the part of our medical practices to ignore the advice of the FDA and not to communicate something."

James Cattin, director of pharmacy at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, says it's unlikely Mainers will need to worry too much. "The other products have not to this date been implicated at all," Cattin says. "They - FDA recommended to stop using any products distributed by NECC, and I'm sure all the hospitals in the state have done that."

According to epidemiologist Stephen Sears, a potentially "huge" number of these recalled products were used regularly in Maine, from eye drops to topical creams and internal medicines.

Two other medications made by NECC, a steroid called triamcinolone and a drug used in heart surgery, are also being tested for possible links to the fungal meningitis outbreak. According to Sears, neither of those drug batches seem to have made it to Maine.