MILWAUKEE (AP) — The number of suspected cases of a blood infection that may have contributed to 18 deaths in Wisconsin is growing and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has assigned additional investigators to pinpoint the bacteria's source.

Infectious disease specialists describe the Wisconsin outbreak of Elizabethkingia (ee-LIZ'-ah-beth-kin-GEE'-ah) as large. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (http://bit.ly/1UcFqIZ ) reports that the CDC has identified two additional suspected cases, besides the 44 that are confirmed.

University of Wisconsin-Madison associate professor of infectious disease, Dr. Nasia Safdar, says there's no obvious common link between the 44 people confirmed as infected.

State health officials say most of those infected are over 65 with compromised health. Those who died all tested positive for the infection, but it's not know if Elizabethkingia caused or contributed to their deaths.