It's a type of gram-negative bacteria found commonly in the environment, but only rarely causes disease in humans.... Most of the victims have been older than 65, and all were dealing with a serious illness of some kind at the time....
Over a typical year, health officials generally report a half dozen or more Elizabethkingia infections in each state, [said Michael Bell, deputy director for the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta].... "We don't see 48 of the identical organism causing an outbreak like this very often," he said. "In fact, this is probably the largest one we've seen.... The fact that they all have one fingerprint makes us think that it could be one isolated source."
March 16, 2016
Elizabethkingia in Wisconsin.
"Since November 2015... Elizabethkingia anophelis, has caused blood infections in 48 people in Wisconsin, 15 of whom have died."
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Whew. Close one - glad I'm only 63.
https://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Elizabethkingia_anophelis
What did Elizabeth King do to get a killer disease named after her?
The fact that they all have one fingerprint makes us think that it could be one isolated source.
If they're looking for the source, maybe they should start here
@David Begley, she discovered the bacteria, and it was named it after her, after she died.
This bacterium is natural. Having a serious illness and being over 65 and still alive is not natural. Maybe this is just nature calling us on our hypocrisy.
What one might have here is a large enough group of sensitive detectors - the ill aged folk - to see a "common" bacteria that is usually around but harmless to healthy people.
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