Six new cases reported in meningitis outbreak

A sample of Cladosporium species, one of the fungi diagnosed in the fungal meningitis outbreak sweeping the United States, in Nashville, Tennessee on October 19, 2012.

(Reuters) - Six new cases of fungal meningitis have been reported in an outbreak tied to contaminated steroid injections that has led to 25 deaths in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Saturday.

The CDC reported three new cases in Florida, two in Ohio and one in Indiana, raising the total number of meningitis cases attributed to the tainted steroid to 337 in 18 states. This type of meningitis cannot be spread person-to-person.

There also are seven reported cases of infections after the tainted steroid was injected into a joint such as a knee, hip, shoulder or elbow.

The steroid was supplied by New England Compounding Center of Massachusetts, which now faces multiple investigations. Health authorities have said its facility near Boston failed to make medications in sterile conditions.

(Reporting by David Bailey, Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and Doina Chiacu)