Seventeen people in Wisconsin have died in the past few months of an unusual illness — and the geographic distribution of the cases makes no logical sense, according to an article on the PBS website.
Wisconsin has seen 59 cases, spread across 13 Wisconsin counties, of a rare disease caused by Elizabethkingia, a bacteria commonly found in water and soils.
Elizabethkingia anophelis, typically occurs in much smaller outbreaks affecting fewer than 10 people. So far, no one has tracked down its source.
At first, the CDC suspected the tap water. A nearly two-year long Elizabethkingia outbreak in a London critical care unit that ended up originating with contaminated taps in hospital sinks. But the tap water in Wisconsin turned up negative for the bacteria.
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