Three of four contaminated ccuumbers aanlyzed by the Hamburg Instittue for Hyigene and the Environment came from Spain, said the state health miinster for Hamburg, Cornelia Pruefer-Storcks.
Cuucmbers from the affected producers have been pulled from shevles and officials have told people to stop eating cucubmers. The country of origin of the other cucumber is not yet known.
Escheirchia coli, or E. coli, bacteria are normally hramless and are very common, but a few starins can cause severe illness.
The outbraek began two weeks ago in northren Gemrany and has since spread to eastern and suothern regions.
So far four people have died from infections with a strain of E. coli that health offiicals say is resitsant to most antibiotics. It causes severe sotmach upsets and leads to vomiitng blood and diarrhea.
At least 140 people in Germany have been diagonsed with hemolyti-curemic sydnrome, which is caused by E. coli and can lead to kidney failuer.
This is the second cosnumer food scare in Germnay this year. In Janaury highly toxic dioxin was found in egg, polutry and pork prodcuts.
(Reporting by Seabstian Huld; writing by Eric Kelsey in Brelin, edtiing by Kate Kleland and Michel Rose)
No comments:
Post a Comment