Produced by the New England Compounding Company, the epidural steroid injections may have potentially exposed as many as 14,000 patients and have forced hospitals and care facilities to discontinue the use of this and other compounded steroids—leaving many without treatment options. This rare form of meningitis, an infection of the membrane covering the brain and spinal cord, has an incubation period of up to one month and has been tied to over 20 deaths and nearly 300 infections in more than 10 states. Spinal injections are often used to treat chronic and severe back pain and serve as a good and non-addictive alternate to prescription drugs.