Forum Views ()
Forum Replies ()
Read more with google mobile :
E.coli food probe targets German bean sprouts
|
Edition:
U.S.
Article
Comments (1)
Slideshow
Video
Interactive
Editor's Choice
China paper warns Google may pay price for hacking claims
Four suspected U.S. cases of E.coli linked to Germany
U.N. says climate talks will miss Kyoto deadline
Gas to pass coal in 15 years, equal oil by 2035: IEA
Hackers attack Nintendo's servers in United States
Cancer costs put treatments out of reach for many
Facebook blunder leads crowd to teen's birthday
Comment: Activision’s brainy toys take over
Video: Tiny eco-home demonstrates big energy savings
Slideshow: Marijuana merchandise
Follow Reuters
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
YouTube
Read
Five U.S. troops killed in Iraq attack
7:57am EDT
China paper warns Google may pay price for hacking claims
7:42am EDT
White House disappointed Fed nominee was thwarted
11:05am EDT
D-Day veterans recall World War Two turning point
05 Jun 2011
Snap analysis: Humala's victory to hit Peru market
4:30am EDT
Discussed
78
150 economists back U.S. Republicans in debt fight
66
”The world is getting warmer”: Romney
63
Moody’s sounds alarm over U.S. debt limit and deficits
Watched
Transsexual model takes Rio
Fri, Jun 3 2011
Latvian blondes prove they have more fun
Thu, Jun 2 2011
Record radiation levels at Fukushima
Sun, Jun 5 2011
E.coli food probe targets German bean sprouts
Tweet
Share this
Email
Print
Factbox
Facts about Europe's E.coli outbreak
9:20am EDT
Related News
German E.coli tests unlikely to finish soon: ministry
9:15am EDT
Analysis: E.coli outbreak poses questions for organic farming
9:22am EDT
Analysis & Opinion
Americans will never allow Medicare to be gutted
Could a leaked cable lead to hunger in Africa?
Related Topics
World »
Health »
Related Video
E.Coli linked to restaurant.
Sat, Jun 4 2011
Related Interactive
Facts about E. coli
1 / 11
Beansprouts and salad sprouts are seen in this picture illustration taken in Berlin June 6, 2011.
Credit: Reuters/Pawel Kopczynski
By Brian Rohan
BIENENBUETTEL, Germany |
Mon Jun 6, 2011 10:36am EDT
BIENENBUETTEL, Germany (Reuters) - German scientists were working Monday to confirm an organic vegetable farm as the source of an outbreak of E.coli bacteria that has killed 22 people and caused a food scare across Europe.
The search for the source of the outbreak is proving very difficult, the Lower Saxony state agriculture ministry said.
E.coli tests on 23 of the 40 samples of beansprouts from the farm in north Germany have proved negative, and the tests are not expected to be completed in the short term, the ministry said in a statement.
The manager of the farm said he could not understand how it could be the source of an infection that is usually transmitted through feces, or food or water contaminated with fecal bacteria.
The Shiga toxin-producing E.coli (STEC) strain found in this outbreak is known to be able to lurk in cows' intestines.
"I can't understand how the processes we have here and the accusations could possibly fit together," Klaus Verbeck told the regional newspaper Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung.
"The salad sprouts are grown only from seeds and water, and they aren't fertilized at all. There aren't any animal fertilizers used in other areas on the farm either."
The relief in Germany that investigators had found a possible source of the killer bacteria -- ironically in bean sprouts, eaten by many as "health food" -- was tempered by the cautious tone of the ministry statement, and by reports of mounting losses for vegetable farmers and retailers across Europe caused by three weeks of panic.
In Brussels, the European Commission said it would hold a special meeting of EU farm ministers in Luxembourg Tuesday. One EU source told Reuters the ministers would discuss financial aid to fruit and vegetable producers hit by the E.coli crisis.
Scientists say the contamination may have been on or in the bean seeds themselves, in the water used to grow them, or have come from a worker handling them.
FARM SHUT
German officials said Sunday that Verbeck's bean sprouts could be behind an E.coli outbreak that has killed 22 and made more than 2,300 people ill across Europe. The farm has been shut and produce has been recalled.
"We've got clear indications that the company ... is the source of the infection but we've got to wait for confirmation from laboratory tests," Health Minister Daniel Bahr told German ARD television.
Neither Verbeck, himself a vegetarian, nor anyone else from the farm would talk Monday to journalists and television crews, including Reuters, outside his farm in Bienenbuettel, a town of 6,600 people about 70 km (40 miles) south of Hamburg.
German officials, under intense pressure to identify the source of the outbreak, have been warning consumers to avoid tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce, and at one stage said Spanish cucumbers might be the source. The rare and highly toxic strain of E.coli has killed 21 Germans and one Swede.
In Geneva, the World Health Organization (WHO) said it was awaiting more information from the Robert Koch Institute, the German institute for disease control.
"Association with contaminated fresh products seems the most likely culprit but we are still considering a wide range of possibilities," said Claudia Stein, director of information, evidence, research and innovation at the WHO's European office.
The health emergency has strained ties between EU members Spain and Germany and led Russia to ban imports of EU fruit and vegetables.
Raw bean sprouts are popular among Germans and are often added to salads or sandwiches.
Spanish farmers say lost sales have been costing them 200 million euros a week, and officials said they might claim compensation. The crisis could put 70,000 people out of work in Spain, which already has the highest unemployment in the EU.
The outbreak has affected people in 12 countries -- all of whom had been traveling in northern Germany. Many have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a potentially fatal complication attacking the kidneys.
"Bean sprouts are very frequently the cause of outbreaks on both sides of the Atlantic," said Paul Hunter, a professor of public health at Britain's University of East Anglia.
"They're very difficult to grow hygienically and you have to be so careful not to contaminate them."
He said organic farms often carried an extra risk of contamination because they shunned non-organic chemicals.
In Japan, at least 11 people died in 1996 in an E. coli outbreak linked to contaminated radish sprouts.
ORGANIC PRODUCER
In Bienenbuettel, two uniformed security guards were patrolling behind the closed driveway gate to the farm located in idyllic countryside.
One neighbor, Sibylle Lange, said she knew Verbeck well and that he had been in organic farming for many years.
"These are very serious, hardworking people who were very early producers of organic products," Lange, a 45-year-old mother of two, told Reuters.
"They've been working here for some 30 years. It's a high-quality product. I've eaten all sorts of vegetables from here -- bean sprouts included -- and they taste delicious. I can't imagine the source could come from here. The whole thing has deeply affected us in the neighborhood and our friends."
The Lower Saxony state agriculture minister, Gert Lindemann, said Sunday evening investigators had traced the rare, highly toxic strain of the bacteria to a farm in the Uelzen region, later identified in the media as the farm in Bienenbuettel.
He said bean sprouts, alfalfa sprouts, mung bean sprouts, radish sprouts and arugula sprouts from the farm might all be connected to the outbreak.
The rare STEC strain of E.coli can stick to intestinal walls where it pumps out toxins, sometimes causing severe bloody diarrhea and kidney problems. Some patients have needed intensive care, including dialysis.
(Additional reporting by Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva, Charlie Dunmore in Brussels and Eric Kelsey in Berlin; Writing by Erik Kirschbaum; Editing by Tim Pearce)
World
Health
Tweet this
Link this
Share this
Digg this
Email
Reprints
We welcome comments that advance the story directly or with relevant tangential information. We try to block comments that use offensive language, all capital letters or appear to be spam, and we review comments frequently to ensure they meet our standards. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters.
Comments (1)
GA_Chris wrote:
Seems weird to blame this on some random small organic farm, seeing how widespread the impact has been.
Jun 06, 2011 7:43am EDT -- Report as abuse
See All Comments »
Add Your Comment
Social Stream (What's this?)
© Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters
Editorial Editions:
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
United States
Reuters
Contact Us
Advertise With Us
Help
Journalism Handbook
Archive
Site Index
Video Index
Reader Feedback
Mobile
Newsletters
RSS
Podcasts
Widgets
Your View
Analyst Research
Thomson Reuters
Copyright
Disclaimer
Privacy
Professional Products
Professional Products Support
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Careers
Online Products
Acquisitions Monthly
Buyouts
Venture Capital Journal
International Financing Review
Project Finance International
PEhub.com
PE Week
FindLaw
Super Lawyers Attorney Rating Service
Reuters on Facebook
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.
Other News on Monday, 6 June 2011 Thirteen Syrian protesters killed attempting to cross into Israel
Cloud of soot darkens sky in Chile, Argentina following Puyehue eruption
Yemens Saleh in Saudi Arabia for wound treatment, Yemenis rejoice
Arizona wildfire burns 250,000 acres
Alex Noren's steady day captures title at Wales Open
Sixth sense: Rafael Nadal continues mastery of Federer on clay, wins French title
One killed in Kenya blast, over 30 injured
|
Greek austerity plan draws 80,000 to Athens square
|
Late night star: Ty Dillon wins Chicago ARCA race
Matt Kemp continues tear with 16th homer; Dodgers lead Reds 4-1
Macedonia ruling VMRO-DPMNE claims election victory
|
Death toll from Tunisian clashes reaches 11
|
Bomb attacks kill 24 in north-west Pakistan
|
Apple's Jobs to take the stage as iCloud hype grows
|
Hackers attack Nintendo's servers in United States
|
Yemen's Saleh comes out of surgery, future unclear
|
Israeli forces kill 18 protesters: Syrian TV
|
Leftist Humala declares victory in Peru election
|
Portuguese center-right beats Socialists in vote
|
NBA Finals: Wade's 29, Bosh's go-ahead bucket help Heat survive Mavs' late charge
Britain says rebels must plan for post-Gaddafi Libya
|
Shin-Soo Choo says DUI charge hurting his play
Socialists face humiliating defeat in Portugals elections
China paper warns Google may pay price for hacking claims
|
Ex-Dodgers greats may look into purchasing team;
U.S. missile strike kills 14 militants in Pakistan: sources
|
Bob Gilder glides under radar, gets victory at Principal Charity Classic
Pope Benedict XVI celebrates Mass before thousands of supporters in Croatia
Bahrain police clash with Shi'ite religious marchers
|
Pakistan foils President Asif Ali Zardari assassination plot
Greece sells historic ports
Bean sprouts grown in Hamburg nursery may have caused E. coli outbreak
Steve Stricker starts strong, survives rain delay to win Memorial Tournament
China paper warns Google may pay price for hacking claims
|
Twilight sequel shines brightest at MTV awards
|
Syrian forces' death toll in clashes rises to 40: State TV
|
E.coli food probe targets German bean sprouts
|
Cubs pitcher Zambrano rips club after another loss to the Cardinals
U.S. missile strikes kill 17 militants in Pakistan
|
Piers Morgan expecting first child with wife Celia Walden
Steve Wheatcroft shatters Nationwide Tour marks with impressive victory
Turkey's leaders livid over Economist article
|
Augusta State University repeats at NCAA golf champions
"Twilight" star Nikki Reed gets engaged to "American Idol" finalist Paul McDonald
Ban Ki-moon asks U.N. council to remain as chief
|
"Twilight" wins big at this year's MTV Movie Awards
Atom watchdog chides bombing of Syrian site in '07
|
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model Jessica White Promotes Mercy at a Charity Dinner
Land mines add to security worries in south Sudan
Palestinian Statehood Drive Fraught With Obstacles
Family of missing CA nursing student want FBI to lead search
Analysis: Soaring IPOs raise specter of new bubble
|
Apple's Jobs to take the stage as iCloud hype grows
|
Stigma puts many firms off reporting cyber attacks
|
Sina plans U.S. launch of Weibo as Twitter rival: TechWeb
|
New theater app puts Broadway on the go
|
SuVolta licenses new chip technology to Fujitsu
|
Mega Brands extends toy making contract with Microsoft
|
Cowell still in talks over U.S. X Factor judges
|
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights