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The Texas Department of State Health Services issued an advisory Tuesday warning people of suspected cases of fungal meningitis among Texas residents who had surgery in Matamoros.
An ongoing investigation, the release said, has identified five affected patients, one of whom died.
The other four are hospitalized.
“People should consider canceling or postponing any elective surgeries involving epidural anesthesia in Matamoros until further notice,” the release said. The DSHS is advising anyone who had any epidural in Matamoros in 2023 — including liposuction — to contact a doctor and tell them about the risk of fungal meningitis. The release describes meningitis as swelling of the protective covering of the brain and spinal cord caused by bacteria, virus, fungus or trauma.
Dr. James Castillo, health authority for Cameron County, said the cluster of cases is suspected to be tied to spinal anesthetic.
There are cases in Cameron County, Castillo said, which were tied to cosmetic surgeries. “Don’t know exactly the total,” he said. “A few people here in the Valley, maybe in Houston. A lot of people travel for these surgeries.”
Castillo said he expects the number of cases to rise and encouraged doctors to be on the lookout for potential infections.
“You can target the fungus before you get the test results back. Which can hopefully save somebody’s life,” he said.
Anyone considering an elective surgery in Matamoros involving spinal anesthetics, Castillo said, should reconsider.
“These are elective procedures, and if people are scheduled to get these done, they need to know about it, that it’s a risk,” he said.
Castillo said he expects the number of cases to rise and encouraged doctors to be on the lookout for potential infections.
The cluster of cases, according to Castillo, is uncommon.
“It’s very rare,” he added. “And it’s almost always due to a contaminated medication that gets injected into the spinal fluid.”
It’s not clear whether authorities will be able to zero in on what’s caused the cluster, which Castillo said could be a few different things.
“The U.S. authorities don’t have the power in Mexico to investigate as to what the cause is,” he said.
