E coli outbreak claims 14th victim in Germany

[News_Editor]

E coli outbreak claims 14th victim in Germany

2011-05-31 05:29:43 GMT+7 (ICT)

BERLIN, GERMANY (BNO NEWS) -- German authorities on Monday announced that the E coli outbreak suspected of being caused by imported cucumbers claimed its 14th victim, the DPA news agency reported.

Health Minister Daniel Bahr warned that the number of people affected by the E coli outbreak is likely to increase. So far, 14 people have died due to the enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC); 12 of them were women.

On Monday, an 87-year-old woman and a 75-year-old man died in the eastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania; the first fatal cases outside northern Germany. In addition, a mid-aged woman died in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the same region in which a 91-year-old woman passed away on Sunday.

Reinhard Burger, president of the Robert Koch Institute, stressed that "further deaths cannot be ruled out and are in fact probable." The Institute is responsible for disease control and prevention in Germany.

Burger warned of eating raw vegetables in northern Germany as washing them is not enough to stop the infectious E coli. Authorities are currently tracing shipments of cucumbers to five other European countries.

There have been approximately four dozen cases reported in five other European countries: Austria, Britain, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden. Another three cases were registered in the United States. Norway also found contaminated cucumbers before entering the market.

All of the people infected have been Germans (local residents and others travelling abroad) or people who recently visited Germany. Many of the victims were diagnosed with haemolytic-uraemic syndrome (HUS), a form of kidney failure caused by E coli.

The outbreak has been caused by organically grown cucumbers imported from Spain, according to the German authorities. However, Spanish Health Minister Leire Pajin denied the allegations as there was no proof and no evidence to support them.

EHEC, or Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli, is a virulent strain of gut bacterium which can cause stomach cramps and diarrhea, and can lead to anemia and kidney damage.

Around 800 to 1,200 cases of EHEC are recorded in Germany each year, predominantly affecting children. The current outbreak is unusual as it severely affects adults.

The disease is spreading quickly after emerging predominately in northern German cities such as Frankfurt, Hamburg, Rostock, Lower Saxony, Bremen and Schleswig Holstein.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-05-31