A 52-year-old Warren County man has been diagnosed with fungal meningitis linked to potentially contaminated steroid shots, the Ohio Department of Health reported today. The unidentified man is the ninth Ohioan to be diagnosed with the rare brain infection.

The outbreak, linked to an injectable steroid administered for back and joint pain by a Massachusetts compounding pharmacy, continues to grow. Ohio’s nine cases include victims each from Crawford, Hamilton, Morrow and Warren counties; and five cases in Marion county. Nationally, the outbreak has caused 19 deaths and 247 illnesses in 15 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Health officials did not release any details about the Warren County man’s condition, and those of the other Ohioans, nor the facility where he received the medication. As many as 14,000 people received injections from suspect shipments of the steroid treatments produced by the New England Compounding Center, or NECC.

ODH officials released a list of 64 health-care facilities around the state that received products compounded or repackaged by NECC. State officials said there are 16 facilities in the Dayton and Cincinnati region that received other types of medications from the pharmacy between May 21 and Oct. 3.

The Framingham, Mass., facility closed early this month and recalled all of its products after people who received injections of methylprednisolone acetate for back or joint pain began developing fungal meningitis. The CDC and the Food and Drug Administration are investigating the pharmacy and another affiliated facility. The FDA announced Tuesday it has launched a criminal investigation.

ODH said Tuesday they used a statewide health emergency alerting system to contact health care providers and hospitals throughout Ohio with additional guidance from the FDA. Local health departments are being tasked with calling each facility in their jurisdiction and supporting those facilities with patient outreach. ODH expects every patient who received a recalled injection to be contacted.

Last week, a Minnesota woman, who said she received the injections of the tainted steroid, filed a federal lawsuit against NECC. CNN reported members of Congress expanded an investigation into the outbreak.

In a letter to the director of the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Pharmacy, leaders of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce noted the FDA sent the NECC a warning letter in 2006 “detailing significant violations witnessed” by investigators the previous year.