Cucumber E. coli Outbreak in Germany
An active cucumber E. coli outbreak in Germany, now extending into Sweden and other western European countries, is attracting worldwide attention after hundreds of people have fallen ill, including more than 200 people who have contracted life-threatening hemolytic uremic sydrome (HUS). At least five people have died.
According to reporters from Reuters news agency and Science Insider, the outbreak strain of E. coli O104 has been found in cucumbers grown in Spain and sold at a big market n Hamburg, Germany, that resells to restaurants, caterers and other outlets.
Stockholm-based European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), which monitors diseases in the European Union, said it had reports of 214 HUS cases, a complication that causes kidney failure and can lead to stroke, paralysis, heart problems, brain infection, severe anemia and other severe health conditions. Children under the age of 5 are most susceptible.
The agency said at least nine HUS cases in Sweden have been linked to the outbreak, including four people who had recently travelled to northern Germany. Scientists have speculated that manure from infected animals used on an organic farm might have spread the bacteria to cucumbers.
E. coli O104 is one of six major non-O157:H7 types of E. coli that emit powerful Shiga toxin, which attack and fragment a person's red blood cells.
