House lawmakers investigating a nationwide outbreak of deadly meningitis are asking the head of the FDA to testify at the first congressional hearing on the issue.

Health regulators will delay decisions on some drugs for up to two days because of the massive storm Sandy, which closed the federal government.

Federal health inspectors say they found bacteria and mold growing in rooms that were supposed to be kept sterile at the pharmacy linked to a deadly outbreak of meningitis.

The Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday it has confirmed the presence of Exserohilum fungus in one of three lots of steroids used for pain injections from the pharmacy at the center of the widespread meningitis outbreak.

When senators met nearly a decade ago to consider the dangers of pharmacies that mix or alter drugs with little federal oversight, health officials briefed them on some alarming findings.

The meningitis outbreak that has so far killed 15 people and sickened more than 200 others is "nowhere near the end," a top medical expert said on Tuesday.

U.S. patients' used heart devices can be safely implanted in seriously ill heart disease patients in the developing world, a study out Monday suggests.

Two other drugs made by the Massachusetts pharmacy at the center of a deadly meningitis outbreak may be linked to the disease.

Health officials have broadened their warning to doctors about other medicines made by a specialty pharmacy linked to a meningitis outbreak.

The meningitis outbreak isn't the first time Congress has pushed for more authority over the pharmacy industry.