Meningitis cases in Arizona? Doctor Alex Bigham says maybe

SCOTTSDALE, AZ - A Scottsdale doctor says some cases of fungal meningitis could end up in Arizona due to the large number of people moving to the state this time of year.

Dr. Alex Bigham, CEO of Novocur Pain Management in Scottsdale, told ABC15 someone could have received an injection in another state and moved to Arizona thinking he or she is OK.

But Dr. Bigham said the incubation period is sometimes two to three months which means Arizona may very well end up seeing some cases of fungal meningitis.

"This is going to get bigger and bigger," said Dr. Bigham."We're going to have more and more people become ill and we're probably going to see more deaths because of those illnesses. So this isn't going away anytime soon unfortunately."

Dr. Bigham said the key is early detection.

If you're having symptoms, Dr. Bigham said to not wait and go to the emergency room because fungal meningitis is a lot easier to treat the sooner it's detected.

Dr. Bigham said the symptoms to be on the lookout for are headache, nausea, fever and slurred speech.

To be clear, no tainted vials were sent to Arizona so if you've had a back injection here there's no reason to be concerned.

Dr. Bigham said it's those who've had one elsewhere and moved to Arizona who should be on the lookout.