Recent Outbreaks

Recent Outbreaks

Since January, CDC has been aiding with the investigation of  outbreaks of infections caused by Elizabethkingia anophelis in the geographical region. Although Elizabethkingia is a common organism within the atmosphere, it rarely causes infections. CDC is aiding with testing samples from patients and a selection of potential sources, including health care merchandise, water sources and the environment; so far, none of these are found to be a source of the microorganism. CDC can continue to work with health departments within the affected states to spot the supply of the microorganism and develop ways in which to forestall these infections.

CDC, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (WDHS), the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) are work an epidemic of infections caused by a bacteria referred to as Elizabethkingia anophelis, which is sometimes found within the atmosphere. The majority of the infections identified so far are blood infections, but some patients have had Elizabethkingia isolated from different sites, such as their respiratory systems or joints.

The majority of the patients who have had Elizabethkingia infections as a part of this occurrence area unit over the age of sixty five years, and all have had serious underlying health conditions. It has not been determined whether the deaths related to this occurrence were caused by the microorganism infection, the patients’ underlying health conditions, or both.

Wisconsin was first notified of six potential cases between December twenty nine, 2015 and January four, 2016 and set up statewide police work on Jan five, 2016. CDC issued a nationwide decision for cases on Jan twenty, 2016, via the Emerging Infections Network and once more on March a pair of, 2016, via the Epidemic Information Exchange system, also better-known as Epi-X. These alerts asked states to look for any infections just like those reported in Wisconsin, and to send isolates from any potential cases to CDC for testing to verify if they match the microorganism inflicting infections in Wisconsin.

In response to the outbreak of Elizabethkingia infections in Wisconsin, Michigan sent a state health alert on February eight , 2016 asking providers and laboratories to review records for Elizabethkingia specimens known since Jan one, 2014. On February twenty nine, 2016, the MDHHS Bureau of Laboratories received an Elizabethkingia from a recently submitted blood sample and forwarded the isolate to Center for Disease Control and Prevention for extra testing, where it was determined to match the microorganism inflicting the occurrence in Wisconsin.

Illinois sent alerts to hospitals on February ten and March twenty nine, 2016 requesting they report all cases of Elizabethkingia and save any specimens for possible testing at public health laboratories.  To date, only one isolate from Illinois has matched the microorganism inflicting the occurrence in Wisconsin.

Although Elizabethkingia is a common organism within the atmosphere (water and soil), it rarely causes infections. CDC is aiding with testing samples from a selection of potential sources, including health care merchandise, water sources and the environment; so far, none of these are found to be a source of the microorganism.

CDC can continue to work with WDHS, MDHHS, and IDPH to identify the supply of the microorganism and develop ways in which to forestall these infections.