Wikipedia
Elizabethkingia
Elizabethkingia is a genus of bacteria described in 2005, named after Elizabeth O. King, the discoverer of the type species. A 2014 study revealed that Elizabethkingia is an emerging bacterial pathogen for hospital environments, with its incidence in intensive care units rising since 2004. It possesses genes conferring antibiotic resistance and virulence. Combined with a lack of effective therapeutic regimens, this leads to high mortality rates.
The genus includes four species:
- Elizabethkingia anophelis, isolated from Anopheles mosquitoes, can cause respiratory tract illness in humans, and involved in an 2016 outbreak centered in Wisconsin.
- Elizabethkingia endophytica, isolated from blemished stems of sweet corn, Zea mays
- Elizabethkingia meningoseptica, can cause outbreaks of neonatal meningitis in premature newborns and infants
- Elizabethkingia miricola, isolated from condensation water in Space Station Mir