2016 United States Elizabethkingia outbreak
 | This article needs to be updated. (January 2018) |
 Wisconsin, in red, the location of 63 confirmed cases as of June 16, 2016 | |
| Date | November 1, 2015 — present |
|---|---|
| Location | Wisconsin, western Michigan, and Illinois, United States[1][2] |
| Type | Disease outbreak |
| Cause | Elizabethkingia anophelis |
| Casualties | |
| Deaths | 20[3] |
An outbreak of Elizabethkingia anophelis infections centered in Wisconsin [4][5] is thought to have led to the death of at least 20 people in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Illinois.[6][7][1][2]
History
[edit]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).[8]
Human infections by E. anophelis involve the bloodstream.[4] Signs and symptoms can include fever, shortness of breath, chills, and cellulitis.[4] Confirmation requires a laboratory test.[4]
Statewide surveillance of the situation in Wisconsin was organized on January 5, 2016.[9] 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.[9][1]
Between November 1, 2015 and March 30, 2016, 62 cases of E. anophelis infections were reported to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Division of Public Health.[4]
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".[10]
In 2017, genomics researchers determined that "a disrupted DNA repair mutY gene [...] probably contributed to the high evolutionary rate of the outbreak strain and may have increased its adaptability," but the source was not identified. [5]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Sarah Kaplan (18 March 2016). "The mysterious infection that might be behind 17 deaths in Wisconsin has spread to a second state". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 18 March 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
- ^ a b c Gallardo, Michelle. "Illinois Death Linked to Elizabethkingia Outbreak That Killed 18". ABC 7 Eyewitness News. WLS-TV. Archived from the original on April 14, 2016. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
- ^ a b "Multistate Outbreak of Infections Caused by Elizabethkingia anophelis". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). June 16, 2016. Archived from the original on April 15, 2016. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e Wisconsin Department of Health Services: "Wisconsin 2016 Elizabethkingia anophelis outbreak Archived 2023-04-27 at the Wayback Machine", last revised: March 30, 2016.
- ^ a b Perrin, Amandine; Larsonneur, Elise; Nicholson, Ainsley C.; Edwards, David J.; Gundlach, Kristin M.; Whitney, Anne M.; Gulvik, Christopher A.; Bell, Melissa E.; Rendueles, Olaya; Cury, Jean; Hugon, Perrine; Clermont, Dominique; Enouf, Vincent; Loparev, Vladimir; Juieng, Phalasy; Monson, Timothy; Warshauer, David; Elbadawi, Lina I.; Walters, Maroya Spalding; Crist, Matthew B.; Noble-Wang, Judith; Borlaug, Gwen; Rocha, Eduardo P. C.; Criscuolo, Alexis; Touchon, Marie; Davis, Jeffrey P.; Holt, Kathryn E.; McQuiston, John R.; Brisse, Sylvain (24 May 2017). "Evolutionary dynamics and genomic features of the Elizabethkingia anophelis 2015 to 2016 Wisconsin outbreak strain". Nature Communications. 8 (1): 15483. Bibcode:2017NatCo...815483P. doi:10.1038/ncomms15483. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 5458099. PMID 28537263.
- ^ "A mysterious infection may have killed 18 people in Wisconsin, and health officials aren't sure why". Msn.com. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
- ^ "Rare Elizabethkingia Bacteria Outbreak Infects 44 in Wisconsin, Killing 18 – ABC News". Abcnews.go.com. March 4, 2016. Archived from the original on March 11, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
- ^ Ehlke, Gretchen. "Source of bloodstream infection in Wisconsin unknown". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
- ^ a b WISN 12 News: "Cases of blood infection reported in Southeast Wisconsin | 44 cases of Elizabethkingia anophelis reported since Nov. 1 Archived 2016-03-10 at the Wayback Machine", March 3, 2016.
- ^ "CDC offers new call to arms on nightmare bacteria". PBS NewsHour. 4 August 2015. Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2016.