UNDATED (WTAQ) – Dozens of cases involving a rare bacterial infection in Wisconsin has state health officials investigating.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, 44 people have been found to have Elizabethkingia, which infects a person’s blood stream.
“The people affected by this outbreak have been people who are already very sick. Healthy people out there who may have a fever today don’t really need to worry about Elizabethkingia,” State Health Officer Karen McKeown told FOX 11.
Officials say most patients with the infection are over the age of 65, with underlying health conditions.
If a person is exposed to the bacteria the symptoms include fever, shortness of breath, chills or bacterial infection on the skin.
18 of the 44 Wisconsinites with Elizabethkingia in their bloodstream have died.
“What we don’t know is whether Elizabethkingia caused their deaths because all of these people also had serious underlying conditions. Those could also have caused their deaths,” McKeown said.
All of the cases have been reported to the state between November 1, 2015 and Wednesday.
“Since we first received the alert of patients, we notified providers throughout the state to be on the lookout for this,” McKeown said.
The outbreak has been found in Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Fond du Lac, Jefferson, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Sauk, Washington and Waukesha counties.
“Elizabethkingia is resistant to some antibiotics but there are other antibiotics that do treat if effectively,” McKeown said.
The great mystery at this point is the cause of this.
“In this outbreak, we have not seen any cases of person to person transmission,” McKeown said.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has also been called in to help with the investigation.
Currently, 5 CDC disease detectives are assisting the state by conducting interviews, and sending samples to the lab in Atlanta.
