A deadly outbreak of E.coli centred in Germany and spreading across Europe is caused by a dangerous new strain, Chinese scientists who analysed the bacteria have said.
The scientists said the outbreak, which has killed 17 and made more than 1,500 others ill in at least 10 European countries and is thought to come from vegetables, carried genes making it resistant to several classes of antibiotics.
The source of the outbreak is unknown.
"This strain has never been seen in an outbreak situation before," a World Health Organisation spokesman said, adding that the organisation was waiting for more information from laboratories.
Chinese scientists at the Beijing Genomics Institute in Shenzhen city, who have newly analysed the genes of the strain, said it carried genes which made it resistant to some classes of antibiotics. "This E.coli is a new strain of bacteria that is highly infectious and toxic," they said.
E.coli infections can spread from person to person but only by what is known as the faecal-oral route. Health experts in Germany are advising strict hygiene regimes and recommending that consumers avoid eating raw salads and vegetables.
The outbreak is causing severe infections, mostly in female adults, and in a number of cases, serious complications affecting the blood and kidneys. Haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS), an unusual complication of some types of E.coli, has been diagnosed in hundreds of the cases.
Russia has banned imports of raw vegetables from the European Union as a result of the outbreak. "A ban on the import of fresh vegetables from EU countries takes effect from this morning," Gennady Onishchenko, the head of the consumer protection agency Rospotrebnadzor, said.
According to the WHO, cases of HUS and enterohemorrhagic E.coli (EHEC) continue to rise in Germany. Overall, 10 countries have now reported cases to WHO.
Many other patients are in hospital, with several needing intensive care, including dialysis. Overall, more than 1,600 cases of complications linked to the E.coli outbreak have been reported worldwide. All cases except two are among people who had recently visited northern Germany. In one case, the person had contact with a visitor from northern Germany.
The German disease control agency the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) reported 365 new E.coli cases yesterday, a quarter of them involving a life-threatening complication of a type of E.coli known as Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC).
Meanwhile, three British nationals in the UK have been infected with E.coli linked to the German outbreak, Britain’s Health Protection Agency (HPA) confirmed today. It brings the total number of cases in the UK to seven. Four cases are among German nationals. Experts believe all the patients caught the infection in Germany and brought it back to the UK.
French government spokesman Francois Baroin said the country had taken the precaution of setting up a crisis unit to deal with a possible outbreak in the country, with health officials across France on alert for signs of new cases.
EU officials said three cases had also been reported in the United States, adding that most infections reported outside Germany involved German nationals or people who had recently travelled to the country.
EU health commissioner John Dalli, however, said the number of new cases appeared to be in decline.
Countries with reported cases of E.coli linked to German outbreak:
Germany
Austria
Denmark
Netherlands
Norway
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom
Reuters/AP