Deadly E Coli Outbreak In Europe

[lizbud]

Just saw brief update on this on the TV news. The strain of e coli is unusual, striking many young people, and having neurological impact including difficulty speaking, and paralysis.

We keep using antibiotics, and bacteria keeps mutating and getting stronger. O rso it seems.

It is very scary that so many are having much more serious reactions
to this new strain & they can't seem to find anything to fight the infection.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory?id=13722361

[kittycats_delight]

Last count on this is over 2000 people throughout Europe have been affected with 18 deaths so far. They are saying this is a brand new strand they have NEVER seen before. Also so for it is immune to all forms of antibiotics tested on it. They thought the strain came from cucumbers from Spain but that has been disproven and they now have no idea where it came from. All fruits & veggies are to be throughly cleaned with sodium bicarbonate and if possible none should be eaten raw. They are also saying to be careful with meats of all kinds as well. Meats are also to be well cleaned and cooked thoroughly. It seems cheese & fish are safe but they are not 100% so they are saying to be careful and clean & cook everything well until they can find the source and get this under control.

[Randi]

I would have thought they had found the particular food that causes this, by now, but I can't find anything that verifies what it is. I wonder if anyone have made a list of the food the people who died or have been affected, ate - and where it was bought. That should narrow it down a bit. I think we are many who would like to see such a list!

Another link with info: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...=feeds-newsxml

[Barbara]

It is about a week after the contact with the bacteria that you get it. Of course it would be very difficult to find for thousands of people where it comes from. So they really have no idea. Northern germany seems to be at the center. (I'm in Southern Germany). The bacteria is a very new cross between two others.

[Kirsten]

Yes, I think the entire thing is so scary! It's a very aggressive strain of enterohemorrhagic e.coli (EHEC), and obviously a mutated form which makes it so difficult to treat. Thousands are ill by now, and more than 500 in Germany have developed this so-called hemolytic uremic syndrome, which makes people's kidneys fail and affects the blood cells. So far, 18 people in Germany have died, most of them women (no one knows why). And I heard that all the ill people from other countries have been in Germany before, so the epicenter of the outbreak is definitely here (in the North of Germany, but there are also ill people in other parts).

And obviously it's not the cucumbers from Spain as they first suspected. But it's still said that most of the ill people ate tomatoes, cucumbers and green salad, which is why the health organisations and the government still recommend not to eat these vegetables, especially not raw. It's kind of scary not to know which food is still safe.

As this is a new, mutated strain (obviously a clone of two EHEC strains), some suspect that it may be a terrorist attack but this has not been confirmed. The entire thing is so mysterious, and it's scary.

And it kind of ruins many farmers. No one here's buing salad or cucumbers these days!

Here's some more info:
E. Coli Outbreak Linked to Aggressive New Strain

[Kirsten]

Don't want to get my hopes up too soon, but there are some breaking news right now that they have most likely found the source! All of the greater outbreaks could be linked to one company in Lower Saxony, Germany, that produces (bean?) sprouts. There's going to be a press conference at 6 pm, which is in 45 minutes. I really really hope that they can confirm this, so the rest of all our food is safe.

Recent death toll in Germany: 21

[lizbud]

Don't want to get my hopes up too soon, but there are some breaking news right now that they have most likely found the source! All of the greater outbreaks could be linked to one company in Lower Saxony, Germany, that produces (bean?) sprouts. There's going to be a press conference at 6 pm, which is in 45 minutes. I really really hope that they can confirm this, so the rest of all our food is safe.

Recent death toll in Germany: 21

Did you earn anything new from the press conference?

I found a very interesting article on BBC about E Coli. Did you know they
can use it to cure diseases? It sounds like it can be part machine and part
living organism. Sounds like the stuff of science fiction.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-13639241