ATLANTA (October 7, 2012)-- In updated figures posted to its website, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the outbreak of a rare fungal meningitis has spread to more than 60 people across nine states and has now claimed seven lives.

Minnesota and Ohio are the two latest states to report confirmed cases linked to a steroid produced by a specialty pharmacy in Massachusetts.

The steroid has been recalled, and health officials have been scrambling to notify anyone who may have been injected with it.

The New England Compounding Center said it is cooperating with health investigators to determine the source of the infections.