As of October 24, 2012, hospitals in the area have not been affected by the fungal meningitis outbreak that has now infected 308 people across 17 states and has left 23 dead, but they are not taking any chances. St. Elizabeth’s Hospital and Belleville Memorial Hospital are contacting patients who received a drug that the FDA and CDC linked to the national fungal meningitis outbreak. Mercy Hospitals are not linked to the New England Compounding Center which is the facility responsible for the outbreak according to spokesperson Bethany Pope. According to a hospital spokesperson neither Barnes-Jewish Hospital not Washington University School of Medicine had purchased any products from the manufacturer. In a statement from St. Louis University Hospital, they said they also do not use the products from the New England Compounding Center.