A bacteria, called Elizabethkingia anophelis, which rarely causes illness in humans, has been identified as the bacteria causing an outbreak of deadly infections in predominantly elderly patients at hospitals in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan since late last year. State health officials and the Centers for Disease Control are working to discover the source of the infections. There have been more than 70 confirmed cases since late 2015. At least 20 of those cases involved the deaths of the patients.
The Elizabethkingia anophelis cases afflicted elderly patients with a history of at least one underlying serious illness. It has not been determine whether all the deaths were caused by the infection or other serious pre-existing health problems.
Possible Negligence & Lawsuits
Our infection outbreak attorneys at Plotkin, Vincent & Jaffe LLC are monitoring news regarding the Elizabethkingia anophelis outbreak for critical updates. If anyone has any new information regarding the source of the outbreak, please do not hesitate to contact us.