Rare Infection Mystify Wisconsin Health Officials, May Have Killed 15 People

Wisconsin health officials are facing a tough challenge of figuring out the source of a mystifying bloodstream infection that has been linked to at least 15 deaths.  The rare infection has now affected dozens of people since its outbreak late last year.

According to the Washington Post, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) has reported that the number of patients, affected by a rare bloodstream infection involving bacterium called Elizabethkingia, has now reached 48 since it began cropping up last November. Though it remains uncertain whether the infection was the real cause, health officials believed that it was behind the death of at least 15 patients.

The state health officials said that the illness in question has been mostly affecting people over 65 years old who have weakened immune system and a history of existing health problems like cancer and diabetes. Most of the patients came from Wisconsin's heavily populated southeastern quarter.

"The number of cases is remarkable, given how infrequently these infections are seen," said Michael Bell, deputy director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion. "It's one of the largest [Elizabethkingia outbreaks] that I'm aware of, and certainly the largest one we've investigated."

ABC News reported that the CDC had dispatched investigators to work with the state's DHS in probing the source of the rare infection. The investigators interviewed patients and their families, and studied medical records.  They also tested various potential sources like food, water supply, medications and health care products, however, all of them have been found to be negative of the bacteria.

"It's frustrating," Bell disclosed. "The fact that all these cases share a fingerprint has us wanting to really track down the source."

As of press time, reported cases of the infection were from Milwaukee, Washington, Columbia, Dane, Ozaukee, Racine, Sauk, Dodge, Fond du Lac, Jefferson, Sheboygan and Waukesha. Initially, DHS reported that there were 18 patients who died due to Elizabethkingia infection, however, they lowered the number to 15 on Thursday.