The deadly Elizabethkingia blood disease first reported in Wisconsin has now spread to Michigan, according to the Medical Daily website.
The Wisconsin Department of Health and Human Services reports that since November 2015, 54 Wisconsin residents have contracted an infection caused by Elizabethkingia anophelis, bacteria commonly found in water and soil.
Eighteeen people have died since the initial outbreak — 17 in Wisconsin and one in Michigan.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notified Michigan officials the bloodstream infection implicated in a resident's death matched the Wisconsin outbreak.
The CDC was able to match the two infections after testing the genetic code of the bacteria. While the strands looked to be from the same source, the CDC has plans to investigate a number of factors, including medications and food, in order to find a pattern.
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