Similar to last week when Valley Fever made me think of Valley girls, the
bacteria that has been hitting the airwaves recently made me think of the Royal
Family.
Before anyone panics, neither Sweet
Princess
Charlotte
nor Hunky
Prince
Harry
has taken ill.
I’m talking
about the bacteria
Elizabethkingia anophelis
.
Why did I make me think of the Royals?
Well, the first time I learned of this
bacteria, I thought I heard or read it as “
Elizabethan
” and
immediately thought of Queen Elizabeth I.
Elizabethkingia is a common bacteria found in soil, water
and insects. Elizabethkingia
often contaminates water and may remain in sinks or
linger on surfaces, allowing it to spread to those who come in contact with it.
It is not a bacteria that typically causes much trouble with humans and if it
does it tends to sicken the very young, elderly, or those with underlying
health conditions. Elizabethkingia causes meningitis
in newborn babies and in people with weakened immune systems can cause meningitis,
bloodstream or respiratory infections.
Most of the severe infections are in the bloodstream. With these types
of infections, the most common symptoms are fever, shaking, and chills and if it
develops into pneumonia, typical respiratory symptoms present. Every year about
5 to 10 cases per state are reported in the United States, with a few small,
localized outbreaks reported, most of which are usually in healthcare settings.
True to its form, that seems to be exactly what is happening
with an outbreak in Wisconsin. Since
November of last year, 57 people have
been confirmed to be infected and 17 people have died as a
result of this bacterium. Most of the
patients that have been diagnosed with Elizabethkingia anophelis have
been over the age of 65 with histories of at least one underlying serious
illness that had compromised their immune system. At this point, the source of the outbreak is
unknown, making it difficult to prevent future infections. Exposure from
contaminated food and water have been identified as potential risk factors,
however, the water supply has been ruled out as a potential source of the
infection after it tested negative for the presence of Elizabethkingia. The investigation has not found any patterns
of medical treatment or device usage among the cases making it difficult to
determine if a relationship exists between infection and specific type of
treatment.
If you’re wondering how the bacteria got its name, it has
nothing to do with The Royals
or the Elizabethan era…… The bacterium
was named for Elizabeth O. King, a bacteriologist at the US Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention who discovered the first species of this genus
in the 1950s. The species causing the Wisconsin outbreak was first isolated
from the Anopheles mosquitoes in 2011 – meaning it just recently got its crown!
Bugging Off!
Nicole
