Type Disease outbreak | Deaths 20 | |
 | ||
Date November 1, 2015 (2015-11-01) — present Location Wisconsin, western Michigan, and Illinois, United States Cause Elizabethkingia anophelis | ||
An outbreak of Elizabethkingia anophelis infections centered in Wisconsin is thought to have led to the death of at least 20 people in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Illinois. As of March 2016 it was reported to be the largest outbreak of Elizabethkingia anophelis-caused disease investigated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Human infections by Elizabethkingia anophelis involve the bloodstream. Signs and symptoms can include fever, shortness of breath, chills, and cellulitis. Confirmation requires a laboratory test.
Statewide surveillance of the situation in Wisconsin was organized on January 5, 2016. Cases had been reported from Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Fond du Lac, Jefferson, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Sauk, Sheboygan, Washington, Waukesha, and Winnebago counties); Illinois; and western Michigan as of April 13, 2016.
Between November 1, 2015 and March 30, 2016, 62 cases of Elizabethkingia anophelis infections were reported to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS), Division of Public Health (DPH).
The severity of the outbreak is reflected in a statement by the CDC that "the agency sees a handful of Elizabethkingia infections around the country each year, but the outbreaks rarely involve more than a couple of cases at a time. To have dozens of cases at once — and more than a third of them possibly fatal — is startling".