Hamburg Hell-E Coli death toll increased to 22

E Coli bacteria has now killed 22 persons. In Hamburg, epicenter of the outbreak, hospitals are receiving more patients with E Coli symptoms. Since Russia banned imports of vegetables from EU, some other countries will surely follow. Let’s hope this doesn’t evolve into bigger problems, although, the world economy still thinks all extraordinary events, such as earthquakes, riots, droughts, tornados etc all just are positives, as we have to rebuild (with more debt) all that is gone. From the Guardian;

German health authorities claim that locally grown beansprouts have been identified as the likely cause of an outbreak of E coli that has killed 22 people and infected 1,700 people across Europe.

Gert Hahne, a spokesman for the agriculture ministry in Lower Saxony, said an alert would be sent out immediately warning people to stop eating the sprouts, which are often used in mixed salads. It was also announced that the death toll from the outbreak had increased to 22.

German hospitals have been struggling to cope with the flood of E colivictims, said Daniel Bahr, the health minister. Hospitals in the northern city of Hamburg, where the outbreak began three weeks ago, have been discharging patients with less serious illnesses to handle the surge of people stricken by a rare, highly toxic strain of the bacteria.

“We’re facing a tense situation with patient care,” Bahr told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper. He said hospitals outside Hamburg could be used to make up for “insufficient capacity” in Germany‘s second-largest city.

Scientists suspect the source of the contamination may have been poor hygiene either at a farm, in transit, or in a shop or food outlet. Many of those infected have developed haemolytic uraemic syndrome, a potentially deadly complication attacking the kidneys.

On Saturday, a microbiologist said officials had identified a restaurant in the northern port city of Lübeck as a possible place where the bug had been passed to humans. At least 17 people infected with E coli had eaten there.