WASHINGTON (AP/CBSDFW.COM) - Federal health officials are reporting the death toll from an outbreak of a rare fungal meningitis has risen to 15.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the outbreak has now sickened 197 people in 13 states.

This week, Texas reported its first case of the potentially deadly disease. A patient, who lives in Central Texas, was one of about 30 people to receive a injection of the now recalled medication from the Dallas Back Pain Management Clinic, according to Dallas County Health & Human Services.

Notification letters have gone out to all those who received the shots, according to DCHHS director, Zachary Thompson.

Another 131 people were treated with the medication at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital in Southlake. Those patients were also notified and are being monitored, with no cases of meningitis currently reported.

The latest state reporting cases is Illinois. Others include Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, and Virginia.

The outbreak has been linked to steroid shots used for back pain made by a specialty pharmacy in Massachusetts.

(©2012 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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