State health officials say they expect the number of cases of a rare bacterial bloodstream infection to grow. A team of federal, state and local investigators are looking for the source of the infection that has infected 44 people and is linked to 18 deaths in Wisconsin. Director of the state Bureau of Communicable Diseases, Stephanie Smiley says the bacteria has infected more than 40 people in 11 southeast Wisconsin counties including Fond du Lac and Dodge. “We believe that the numbers will go up,” Smiley told AM 1170 WFDL’s Between the Lines program. “Its impossible to tell at this point how many individuals we’re talking about but this is something we’re monitoring very closely. We’re taking it extremely seriously.”
