 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Germany warned on Sunday that the source of an outbreak of bacteria poisoning blamed for 10 deaths and hundreds of people falling ill, some in other countries, has yet to be pinpointed. "Until experts in Germany and Spain are able to positively identify the source of the pathogen, general warnings about vegetables remain valid," Consumer Minister Ilse Aiger told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper. Germany's national disease institute, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), has confirmed two deaths so far from haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS), a disease caused by a strain of bacteria known as enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC). However, there are eight other suspected HUS deaths, and the RKI has said that close to 300 people have contracted the disease in recent weeks. Normally about 60 people in Germany a year contract HUS, according to AFP. The deaths included four fatalities announced on Saturday in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein and in Hamburg, including three women in their 80s and a fourth in her 30s. Nine of those who have died so far are women. The epicenter of the outbreak has been in northern Germany, with more than 1,000 people suspected of being infected, reports said. Several are said to be fighting for their lives. Hospitals in the city of Hamburg, where more than 400 people are believed to have been infected with EHEC, were said to be overwhelmed and sending patients to clinics elsewhere in the country. Sweden has reported 25 E. coli cases, of whom 10 developed HUS, according to the European Commission. Denmark reported seven E. coli cases (including three HUS) while Britain counted three cases (two HUS). More cases have been reported in France, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Austria, where authorities ordered organic cucumbers, tomatoes and aubergines delivered from Germany but grown in Spain withdrawn from sale in 33 shops. Suspicion has so far turned to Spain, with the European Commission (EC) saying Friday that organic cucumbers grown in the southern provinces of Almeria and Malaga had been confirmed as a source of the outbreak. Southern Spanish authorities said Saturday they had introduced restrictions on two distributors. Andalusia's regional council said suspect batches had been withdrawn pending tests, results of which were due today. The EC said a batch of cucumbers originating either in the Netherlands or in Denmark, and traded in Germany, was also under investigation. The Czech Republic imported a batch of tainted organic cucumbers from Spain, the CTK news agency said Saturday, citing the country's agriculture and food inspection authority SZPI. The SZPI added that cucumbers from a contaminated shipment also went to Hungary and Luxembourg, the AP reported. Agencies |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
