ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Department of Health is reporting the state’s ninth confirmed case of fungal meningitis in a national outbreak tied to tainted steroids.

The initial announcement Thursday did not give details about the patient. It was the state’s first new confirmed case since two were announced on Oct. 17.

The department has said that around 985 patients associated with six pain and surgical clinics in Minnesota received injectable steroids linked to the fungal meningitis outbreak that were produced by the New England Compounding Center of Framingham, Mass.

Nationally, the tainted steroids have been linked to 328 illnesses in 18 states, including 24 deaths as of Thursday.

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