The Wisconsin Department of Health Services ( DHS)has confirmedthat 17 citizenry have now died from a bacterial infection that has so far involve 54 patient , yet the rootage of the eruption remains unsung . While there is nothing secret about the identity of the microbe responsible for the deaths , the extent of the current state of affairs is unprecedented , and massively surmount all previous eruption involve this special micro-organism .
mention after the scientist who first distinguish the bacteria in the fifties , Elizabethkingia anophelisis a common microbe that is found in soil and piss . While most people who amount into impinging with the microbe suffer no ominous effects , those with imperfect resistant system can become ill , as the bacteria colonize their respiratory pathway , moderate to conditions such as pneumonia .
For this reason , it is most grievous to very sometime or very young multitude , and is most commonly associated with meningitis in new-sprung babies . It can also mystify a threat to those suffer from other conditions such as cancer , which could compromise the strength of their immune organization .
Until now , the majority of know outbreak had been very limited , often affecting only two or three somebody within a very narrow geographic region . commonly these stem from a nearby rootage where the bacteria has become hard , such as asink or faucet .
However , the current outbreak has claimed victims from 12 different Wisconsin county , with one character being reported in Michigan . All those infect are reported to be over the age of 65 , and suffering from at least one other major wellness stipulation – which may excuse their susceptibleness to the bacteria .
" At this time , the beginning of these infections is unsung and the Department is working diligently to contain this eruption , " the DHS said in their argument .
Since the spot begin in early November last year , the DHS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) have been working to identify the precise strain of the bacteria responsible for the outbreak , and have found all sample to be genetically very . This would seem to suggest that there is a single source , which shit the widespread nature of the outbreak even more confusing .
Health official are presently treating victim using a range of antibiotics , although succeeder is for the most part dependent upon how early the infection is detected . In the meantime , CDC functionary are question affected role and their relatives for try and pinpoint the source of the infection and find out how so many mass from across the state came into contact with it .
