MYSTERY SURROUNDED the source of Germany’s E.coli epidemic yesterday after authorities ruled out Spanish cucumbers as the source of the contamination.
Yesterday a 50-year-old woman in Sweden became the first casualty outside Germany, where already 15 people have fallen victim to the enterohaemorrhagic E.coli (EHEC) bacterium.
Swedish authorities said the woman had recently returned from Germany. Meanwhile, the latest German victim was an 87-year-old woman, who died early on Tuesday morning in a hospital in Paderborn. Of the 15 fatalities so far, only two were men. In total around 1,400 people are being treated for suspected infection in Germany with 353 confirmed E.coli cases.
“The source of the infection is, as before, unidentified,” said Cornelia Prüfer-Storcks, state health minister in Hamburg. “Our hope to discover the source of serious HUS (haemolytic uraemic syndrome) complications unfortunately was not realised.” The four cucumbers confiscated last week at a vegetable wholesale market in Hamburg, and attributed to two Spanish suppliers, were contaminated with a variation of E.coli, she said, but not with the strain behind the ongoing epidemic in northern Germany.
Spanish agriculture minister Rosa Aguilar has called for compensation to cover the losses sustained by Spanish farmers – estimated at €200 million weekly – caused by the false claims about their vegetables . “One should stop looking to Spain, Spanish vegetables are safe,” she said, criticising authorities in Hamburg for making claims about Spanish cucumbers “without any proof”.
“We are disappointed with the way Germany has dealt with this.” The Hamburg health minister dismissed the Spanish criticisms yesterday as without foundation.
“It was right to make public the results of our investigation as the contamination could very well cause EHEC,” said Ms Prüfer-Storcks. “It would have been irresponsible with this number of ill people to keep quiet about a well-grounded suspicion.
“Protecting people’s lives is more important than economic interests.” The E.coli bacterium has its origins in cattle and other ruminants and usually enters the food chain through faecal contamination. In humans the bacterium generates toxins that cause the haemolytic uraemic syndrome in humans, causing potentially fatal kidney failure.
Doctors in the Hamburg University Clinic say their HUS patients in treatment are “increasingly displaying nervous system problems” like slurred speech, twitching, and epileptic fits.
Meanwhile, doctors at the Hygiene Institute at Münster University Clinic announced yesterday they had developed a quick test to identify the EHEC toxins within hours. “This strain can be described as a hybrid or a chimera that combines different virulent traits,” said Prof Helge Karch of the Münster clinic.
Despite continued uncertainty in Germany about the source of the epidemic, health authorities said warnings remained active and urged consumer to continue to observe good hygiene habits and avoid raw vegetables.
That recommendation has renewed frustration among German vegetable producers, who are shredding millions of tonnes of unsold produce daily.
"It's always us left sitting on the mess," said producer Rudolf Behr to Der Spiegelwebsite. "It makes no sense to ruin the reputation of the healthiest foods going."