Medical experts recommend precautionary measures as disease traced to the Elizabethkingia bacteria reached outbreak levels with 44 total cases and 18 fatalities in Wisconsin Tuesday.

The disease has come into the limelight because medical experts have been unable to trace its source, Bill Kinsey, University Health Services medical director, said. Typically, the disease affects people with weak immune systems and those suffering with other health problems such as cancer and kidney disease, he said.

Most cases reported in Wisconsin are elderly people above the age of 65 years, Kinsey said. The disease is usually not detected until people become very ill, which increases fatality risk, he said.

Kinsey said Elizabethkingia infections are rare and concentrated in isolated outbreaks. Because of this, the 44 reported cases in Wisconsin are “pretty shocking,” he said. Doctors are unsure if the source of the disease is the bacteria or the patient’s weak immunity and medical problems.

“It is a serious disease,” Kinsey said.

The first few cases of the disease were reported in December 2015, Karen McKeown, Wisconsin Department of Health Services state health officer, said in a statement. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have sent more staff to Wisconsin to look into the outbreak here and are working “diligently” to control the disease’s spread, McKeown said.

McKeown said population, laboratory and environmental testing is being conducted to investigate the disease further. It is also working with organizations such as the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene, infection preventionists and clinicians in Wisconsin.

“Determining the source of the bacteria affecting patients in Wisconsin is a complex process,” McKeown said. “While we recognize there will be many questions we cannot yet answer, we feel it is important to share the limited information we have about the presence of the bacteria, as we continue our work to determine the source.”

Kinsey said college students are not at risk for the disease, but should be careful in general. The disease is not communicable like the flu and there is no source reported on the University of Wisconsin campus, he said.

Kinsey said students should practice healthy habits and reduce their risk of any type of infection.

“Keep your immune system healthy, get 7 to 8 hours of sleep, stay hydrated, eat a healthy diet and exercise and maintain friendships,” Kinsey said.  

DHS, CDC and UHS are keeping track of the disease and will inform the public if the outbreak progresses or if any information on its source is found, Kinsey said.