Mysterious illness spreading in Illinois

Posted on April 24, 2016

By Terry James

SPRINGFIELD – A mysterious disease is spreading in Illinois. Elizabethkingia has affected at least 10 individuals in Illinois. In Wisconsin, at least 18 people have died from a different strain of the infection.

Illinois Department of Public Health Director Nirav Shah said there are many unanswered questions about how the disease is spread.

“Why is is that some folks who are exposed get infected and others don’t?” said Shah. “It’s everywhere in the environment, it’s everywhere in the environment, but yet not everyone is out there walking around with an infection.”

Health officials continue to collect case histories and other information to try to find a connection among these individuals. Shah says most of those affected are over the age of 65 and have some underlying illness.

Elizabethkingia bacteria are commonly found in the environment, but do not typically cause human illness.

Terry James can be reached at [email protected].

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