The Wisconsin Department of Health Services reported on Wednesday that a new case of Elizabethkingia is currently under investigation.
A total of 61 cases of Elizabethkingia infections have been confirmed in the state, with an additional four possible infections that cannot be confirmed because there are no longer specimens available for testing.
A total of 18 Wisconsin residents with confirmed infections have died. There has also been an additional death in the state among the four possible cases. Both a Michigan resident and a resident from Illinois with confirmed infections related to the Wisconsin outbreak have also died. It is not clear if the infections were directly attributable to the deaths due to the fact that the majority of those infected were over the age of 65 and had preexisting comorbidities.
Since January, the CDC has been assisting WDHS with the investigation into the outbreak. The initial source of the infections remains unknown.
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