--- description: A Michigan death is attributed to the same bacteria that has caused an outbreak in Wisconsin. title: Mysterious Wisconsin Infection Is Linked to Death in Michigan image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Mysterious Wisconsin Infection Is Linked to Death in Michigan by [Daniel White](/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 18, 2016 2:38 PM CUT by [Daniel White](/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 18, 2016 2:38 PM CUT A Michigan resident who died recently was infected with the same bacteria at the center of [an outbreak in Wisconsin](http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2016/03/17/michigan-death-linked-wisconsin-outbreak/81909642/ "undefined"), state health officials confirmed Thursday The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told the Michigan Department of Health and Human Service of the match March 11 , according to the Detroit _News_. [Seventeen people have died in Wisconsin ](http://time.com/4257603/wisconsin-disease-elderly-elizabethkingia/ "undefined")since a November outbreak of infections caused by _Elizabethkingia_, a bacteria commonly found in the local environment. Infections have mostly occurred [in patients over 65](http://www.popsci.com/scientists-are-stumped-by-this-bacteria-killing-people-in-wisconsin "undefined"), and all those who have died have also had another major health issue. It has not been confirmed whether the Michigan death is directly related to the Wisconsin outbreak, said CDC spokeswoman Melissa Brower. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4264074/wisconsin-infection-elizabethkingia-death-michigan/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4264074/wisconsin-infection-elizabethkingia-death-michigan/"},"headline":"Mysterious Wisconsin Infection Is Linked to Death in Michigan","datePublished":"2016-03-18T14:38:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T16:01:31.275Z","description":"Deaths in both states are attributed to the bacteria Elizabethkingia","url":"https://time.com/4264074/wisconsin-infection-elizabethkingia-death-michigan/","keywords":["Public Health","Michigan","Disease","Wisconsin"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Daniel White","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/daniel-white/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4264074/wisconsin-infection-elizabethkingia-death-michigan/","name":"Mysterious Wisconsin Infection Is Linked to Death in Michigan"}}]}] ```