Death toll rises to 11 in US meningitis outbreak

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The death toll from an American meningitis outbreak linked to tainted medication climbed to 11 on Tuesday, according to US officials, who warned the strain of the disease had hit 119 people.

Officials at the United States (US) Centres for Disease Control (CDC)and Prevention said as many as 13,000 people might have received doses of potentially contaminated steroid injection which led to an outbreak of the rare fungal infection.

Cases of the ailment have been reported in 10 US states.

Among the hardest hit are Tennessee with 39 cases, Michigan with 25, and Virginia with 24. Florida, Maryland and Minnesota, New Jersey, Indiana, North Carolina and Ohio also reported cases.