Wisconsin health officials are searching for source of the Elizabethkingia anophelis bacteria that has been linked to 18 deaths and 44 cases of infection in southern part of state, according to an article on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel website.
The the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said at least some of the patients fell ill after being admitted to a hospital. Others were residents in either a nursing home or skilled nursing facility.
Investigators from the CDC have swabbed the shower head and faucet at the assisted-living home in Muskego one victim lived.
The bacteria can lurk in a sink or in water and spread to those who come in contact with it. Investigators have searched for a common environmental link, and have even considered whether the bacteria could have been present in skin creams.
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