EHEC Bacteria in European Cucumbers

Update: June 7, 2011 - I heard today that now they are NOT thinking it is from the bean sprouts. They have no idea what the source is. The mystery continues.

Update: June 5, 2011 - The German government now thinks the root of the problem was bean sprouts from a farm South of Hamburg. -- Oops, sorry Spain!

Original article from May 31, 2011:

Escherichia coli (aka E. coli) has been detected in cucumbers in Europe.

People were likely infected from eating raw cucumbers, tomatoes or lettuce. 16 dead and 1000+ sick, 400 potentially fatally sick. Most of the outbreak has occurred in Germany. Russia banned the import of these vegetables. This is a big deal.

The Netherlands said it wasn't them.



Taiwannews.com.tw reports:

It's "extraordinary" to see so many cases of the kidney complication from a foodborne illness, said Dr. Robert Tauxe, a foodborne disease expert at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"There has not been such an outbreak before that we know of in the history of public health," Tauxe said. He added that the strain of E. coli in the European outbreak has not been seen in the United States, where there have been several high-profile foodborne outbreaks in recent years, but none with such a high death toll.

At first it was suspected that the cucumbers to blame were from Spain. But tests revealed Spain was not to blame. Dutch vegetables have been declared free of EHEC bacteria. Where the EHEC originated from is so far a mystery.

EHEC is really bad, causing sickness ranging from bloody diarrhea to hemolytic uremic syndrome, the rare kidney condition that the most seriously ill patients are suffering from. The syndrome is not short lived. After 10 to 20 years after the infection 30 to 50 percent of victims have some kidney disfunction.

WHO is on the case.

UPDATE: See my comment - the cause of this outbreak is still a mystery!