(Matamoros) Mexican authorities were trying Thursday to locate several hundred people, including U.S. nationals, at risk of developing fungal meningitis after surgeries, including cosmetic surgery, near the border.
This announcement comes the day after a health warning from the American authorities suspecting fungal infections, causing serious complications, including death, among American residents returning from the Mexican border town of Matamoros.
According to the health minister of the state of Tamaulipas, where Matamoros is located, bordering Brownsville, Texas, some 400 people are affected, including about 80 residents of the United States.
“They will be contacted to determine if they are infected,” Vicente Joel Hernandez told AFP.
Two clinics, River Side Surgical Center and Clinica K-3, were closed after the death of an American and the infection of seven other people, he said.
According to the US government, the affected travelers underwent surgeries at these clinics, including liposuction, which involves the injection of anesthetics into the area around the spine.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has called on anyone who has recently had this type of surgery, and shows symptoms, to go to the nearest hospital urgently.
Fungal meningitis infections are not contagious and do not spread from person to person, it is emphasized.
Mexico is one of the main medical tourism destinations in the world. Patients mainly from the United States for dental, aesthetic or even cancer treatment.