Spanish cucumbers "not cause of E.coli infection"

The recent E.coli outbreak which has claimed 17 lives across Europe so far was not caused by contaminated Spanish cucumbers, the head of public health in Germany has said.

To date, the E.coli 0104 strain has causes 16 deaths in Germany and one in Sweden. In addition to these countries, confirmed cases have also been reported in Denmark, Spain, Austria, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland and the UK.

Most of the people infected either lived, or had recently travelled to Germany.

At the time the information about the infections first became public, it was suggested that cucumbers grown in Spain may have been to blame.

But the European Commission has now lifted its previous warning about Spanish produce, stating that investigations "did not confirm the presence of the specific serotype (O104), which is responsible for the outbreak affecting humans."

This change may be too late for some Spanish farmers, as sales have already dropped dramatically and a number of countries continue to ban cucumbers and other vegetables from Spain.

This has prompted talk among some producers that they will seek compensation from the Germany authorities for the incorrect warnings.

E.coli

To date, E.coli 0157 has caused most outbreaks in the UK. People usually become infected by eating contaminated fruit and vegetables, undercooked meat or by coming into contact with contaminated soil e.g at petting farms.

Serious illness, such as haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS), which can cause kidney failure and death can occur in up to 10 per cent of people infected by the bacterium. Young children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems are more at risk.

In Germany, a rare bacterial strain - E.coli O104 - is the cause of the outbreak. This strain of E.coli is particularly virulent, affecting healthy adults, particularly women for reasons as yet unknown. A much higher proportion of those infected are developing HUS than is normally seen with other E.coli strains.

Experts now concede that the true source of the infection may never be found, and health agencies continue to warn consumers to practice good hygiene when preparing food.

For more details on how to do this, please see this article How to avoid catching E.coli.

This article was published on Thu 2 June 2011