Cucumbers recalled as death toll rises to 10
Source: Agencies |
May 30, 2011, Monday
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SPANISH cucumbers suspected of contamination with a potentially deadly bacteria are being recalled from stores in Austria and the Czech Republic to prevent the spread of an outbreak that has killed at least 10 people and sickened hundreds across Europe, officials said yesterday.
Czech officials said organic Spanish cucumbers were being taken off the shelves.
Health authorities in Austria said small numbers of the cucumbers were being recalled from 33 stores.
The Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety said it was informed by a European Union warning system that two German companies had issued an immediate recall of cucumbers, tomatoes and eggplants they had delivered to stores in the Alpine republic. The agency said that some of the suspect vegetables may have been sold and it was urging consumers to throw them away.
The Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority said cucumbers from a contaminated shipment also went to Hungary and Luxembourg. There were no immediate reports of illness there.
In Germany, health officials said yesterday that one more person had succumbed to the bacteria, raising the death toll from nine to 10. The number of people infected also went up over the weekend, with at least 467 cases of intestinal infection in the northern city of Hamburg alone, including 91 cases of the more severe hemolytic uremic syndrome, a city health official said. HUS is a rare complication arising from infection associated with the E. coli bacterium.
An exact number of infections in Germany was not available, but local papers estimate that around 1,000 people had fallen ill with the intestinal infection across the country by yesterday.
German Health Minister Ilse Aigner warned not to eat any cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce and other leaf salads. "As long as experts in Germany and Spain have not succeeded in finding the cause of the infection without a doubt, these general warnings for vegetables stay in place," Aigner said.
An Austrian Health Ministry spokesman said two German tourists had tested positive for E. coli.
Swedish officials say 36 cases of the bacterial infection have been reported in Sweden and 13 have developed HUS. In Denmark, 11 people have been infected, including five with HUS. In England there were three cases of E. coli in German nationals.
A European Union spokesman said two greenhouses in Spain had ceased production and water and soil there were being analyzed.
Czech officials said organic Spanish cucumbers were being taken off the shelves.
Health authorities in Austria said small numbers of the cucumbers were being recalled from 33 stores.
The Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety said it was informed by a European Union warning system that two German companies had issued an immediate recall of cucumbers, tomatoes and eggplants they had delivered to stores in the Alpine republic. The agency said that some of the suspect vegetables may have been sold and it was urging consumers to throw them away.
The Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority said cucumbers from a contaminated shipment also went to Hungary and Luxembourg. There were no immediate reports of illness there.
In Germany, health officials said yesterday that one more person had succumbed to the bacteria, raising the death toll from nine to 10. The number of people infected also went up over the weekend, with at least 467 cases of intestinal infection in the northern city of Hamburg alone, including 91 cases of the more severe hemolytic uremic syndrome, a city health official said. HUS is a rare complication arising from infection associated with the E. coli bacterium.
An exact number of infections in Germany was not available, but local papers estimate that around 1,000 people had fallen ill with the intestinal infection across the country by yesterday.
German Health Minister Ilse Aigner warned not to eat any cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce and other leaf salads. "As long as experts in Germany and Spain have not succeeded in finding the cause of the infection without a doubt, these general warnings for vegetables stay in place," Aigner said.
An Austrian Health Ministry spokesman said two German tourists had tested positive for E. coli.
Swedish officials say 36 cases of the bacterial infection have been reported in Sweden and 13 have developed HUS. In Denmark, 11 people have been infected, including five with HUS. In England there were three cases of E. coli in German nationals.
A European Union spokesman said two greenhouses in Spain had ceased production and water and soil there were being analyzed.
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