An outbreak of Elizabethkingia bacterial infections has spread to Illinois, as the March death of a 52-year-old woman there has been tied to 18 similar deaths in Wisconsin.
Health officials don’t know how Kimberly Cencula, 52, contracted the bacteria, but it has become a topic of “intense scientific investigation,” Dr. Nirav Shah, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health,
told CBS Chicago.
“It’s a bacteria that exists normally in the environment,” Shah said. “It exists in water and soil. It’s everywhere around us.”
The strain identified in Cencula was the same as that as that found in 57 patients in Wisconsin and one in Michigan,
CNN reported.
"The majority of the infections identified to date have been bloodstream infections, but some patients have had Elizabethkingia isolated from other sites, such as their respiratory systems or joints," the Illinois Department of Public Health said.
Symptoms include fever, shortness of breath, chills and bacterial skin infection, and the infection is resistant to antibiotics. Most of the individuals who have died in the Wisconsin outbreak were older than 65 and all had an underlying illness.
Cencula died on March 29, and officials confirmed the Elizabethkingia infection on Tuesday,
the Grayslake Patch reported. She was a resident of Lake Villa, Illinois, who formerly worked as a model in New York and Hollywood.
“Illinois is working closely with the CDC and Wisconsin and Michigan health officials to investigate this outbreak and develop ways to prevent additional infections,” Shah said, according to Patch. “IDPH will continue to coordinate with hospitals and health care providers to quickly identify and report cases of Elizabethkingia.”
On Friday,
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker announced the approval of the addition of nine project positions to assist in the response and investigation into the Elizabethkingia bacteria.
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