Montgomery, AL – Alabama health officials are trying to determine whether bacteria found at a Birmingham pharmaceutical company matches bacteria that's linked to an infection outbreak in a half-dozen state hospitals.
The director of the state health department, Dr. Donald Williamson, says investigators hope to have test results back by Tuesday.
Nine people died and 10 others were sickened last month after receiving intravenous feeding bags produced by Meds IV. Officials haven't linked the deaths and illnesses directly to the infection, and they say they may never know exactly what role the contamination played.
Williamson says the type of bacteria found in the IV bags was found on a sink and in a production area at Meds IV, but they've yet to get test results to show whether it's the exact same organism.
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