The Ohio Department of Health confirmed that six residents had surgery with a tuberculosis-infected allograft, and one of them has died, ABC affiliate News 5 Cleveland reported.
Five units of Aziyo Biologics' FiberCel allograft were received by three facilities in the state, according to the Aug. 9 report. Mayfield Spine Surgery Center in Cincinnati, Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton and Western Reserve Hospital in Cuyahoga Falls were affected.
Michelle Weethee, one of the six infected patients, had spine surgery to treat back pain at Miami Valley Hospital North. A few weeks later, she tested positive for tuberculosis.
"I just don’t understand how somebody could miss this," she told the station. "I feel like this is on the company, and they dropped the ball."
Miami Valley Hospital North didn't respond to the station's request for information. Western Reserve Hospital's vice president of marketing told the station in a statement that one patient received the allograft a month before it was recalled. Mayfield Spine Surgery Center didn't provide the station details about any cases but said they were committed to patient care.
Aziyo Biologics recalled a lot of its FiberCel on June 2. The infected lot has 154 units from a single donor and was distributed to facilities in 20 states. Multiple lawsuits have been filed on behalf of patients who became ill or died from the infected allografts.
In a statement to News 5, Aziyo Biologics said the company is reviewing its procedure for screening donors and is working with the FDA and CDC in its investigation.