A mysterious cluster of killer bacterial infections is sweeping a US state in an outbreak that has experts baffled: Disease is resistant to most antibiotics
TheBigWobble.org
Wednesday, 16 March 2016
A mysterious cluster of killer bacterial infections is sweeping a US state in an outbreak that has experts baffled.
It’s thought the rare bloodstream disease known as elizabethkingia anophelis has killed 18 and infected 48 people in Wisconsin since November.
Symptoms include fever, shortness of breath, chills and cellulitis (an infection of the skin and tissues under the skin, most commonly on the lower legs.)
The disease is resistant to some antibiotics, but no one is sure how it’s infecting so many people – or why it’s proving so deadly.
The Wisconsin department of health is investigating and has alerted healthcare providers, infection experts and laboratories statewide.
“At this time, the source of these infections is unknown and the department is working diligently to contain this outbreak,” it said in a statement.
Most of those killed by the disease are over 65, and all patients have a history of at least one serious illness.
Elizabethkingia anophelis was discovered in mosquitoes in 2011 and is associated with meningitis in infants and diseases originating in hospitals, although its transmission route is unclear.
The infection is not spread from person to person, but could potentially come from a food supply or medication system.
Dr William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told abcnews.go.com:
“Outbreaks of elizabethkingia have been associated with contaminated ventilators or contaminated [injectable] medication or tube feeding, or something like that, and then it gets into the bloodstream.” He said the bacteria can be particularly deadly in premature infants, who do not have fully developed immune systems.
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