Less viral E. coli found in Dutch beet
Source: Agencies |
June 10, 2011, Friday
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Print Edition
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DUTCH authorities recalled red beet sprouts from three countries yesterday after samples were found to be contaminated with a strain of E. coli bacteria that was apparently less dangerous than the one causing Europe's deadly E. coli crisis.
German health officials, meanwhile, reported that three more people died of the ailment yesterday, raising the death toll to 29 in less than six weeks.
The Dutch Food Safety Authority said laboratories were still trying to identify the Dutch strain of E. coli, but said there have been no immediate reports of serious illness from it.
Still, the agency said it was definitely not the same E. coli strain that killed 29 people, sickened 2,900 others and left hundreds with serious complications, most of them in Germany. The cause of that outbreak has so far eluded German investigators.
Only one Dutch grower, a company called Hamu, was found with contaminated beets, and other produce grown on its farms were cleared of suspicion, said Esther Filon, a spokeswoman for the Dutch regulation agency.
"It's not the same as in Germany. You can become ill, but as far as we know at this moment, it is not lethal," she said.
She said the authorities were trying to trace all shipments from the grower. The agency said Hamu, based in the town of Kerkdriel, 70 kilometers southeast of Amsterdam, had exported beet sprouts to Belgium as well as selling them on the Dutch and German markets.
There are hundreds of E. coli bacteria strains in nature, but only a few are deadly to humans and the bacteria is more commonly known as a source of food poisoning or severe stomach problems.
People naturally carry several harmless E. coli strains in their intestines and the bacteria is also widely found in cows, sheep and other mammals. Strains which are harmless to animals can sometimes be lethal for humans.
Experts worry about E. coli's constant evolution, which may result in dangerous mutations for humans.
The European Union informed the Netherlands late on Wednesday that contaminated beet sprouts had been found in Germany, and tests in the Netherlands confirmed it.
Harald Wychel of the National Institute for Public Health said authorities are still investigating whether anyone has fallen ill from the Dutch strain.
In Berlin, the Robert Koch Institute said the rate of new illnesses was declining in the deadly E. coli outbreak. It said 2,808 people have been sickened in Germany, 722 of whom are suffering from a serious complication that can cause kidney failure. But it was not clear whether the epidemic was waning, or people were just successfully shunning fruit and vegetables.
The World Health Organization said 97 others have fallen sick in 12 other European countries, as well as three in the United States. Germany's Lower Saxony state health ministry said two more people died after being infected - a 20-year-old woman and an 68-year-old man.
European Union farmers said they have been losing up to 417 million euros (US$604 million) a week as ripe produce rots on fields and in warehouses.
German health officials, meanwhile, reported that three more people died of the ailment yesterday, raising the death toll to 29 in less than six weeks.
The Dutch Food Safety Authority said laboratories were still trying to identify the Dutch strain of E. coli, but said there have been no immediate reports of serious illness from it.
Still, the agency said it was definitely not the same E. coli strain that killed 29 people, sickened 2,900 others and left hundreds with serious complications, most of them in Germany. The cause of that outbreak has so far eluded German investigators.
Only one Dutch grower, a company called Hamu, was found with contaminated beets, and other produce grown on its farms were cleared of suspicion, said Esther Filon, a spokeswoman for the Dutch regulation agency.
"It's not the same as in Germany. You can become ill, but as far as we know at this moment, it is not lethal," she said.
She said the authorities were trying to trace all shipments from the grower. The agency said Hamu, based in the town of Kerkdriel, 70 kilometers southeast of Amsterdam, had exported beet sprouts to Belgium as well as selling them on the Dutch and German markets.
There are hundreds of E. coli bacteria strains in nature, but only a few are deadly to humans and the bacteria is more commonly known as a source of food poisoning or severe stomach problems.
People naturally carry several harmless E. coli strains in their intestines and the bacteria is also widely found in cows, sheep and other mammals. Strains which are harmless to animals can sometimes be lethal for humans.
Experts worry about E. coli's constant evolution, which may result in dangerous mutations for humans.
The European Union informed the Netherlands late on Wednesday that contaminated beet sprouts had been found in Germany, and tests in the Netherlands confirmed it.
Harald Wychel of the National Institute for Public Health said authorities are still investigating whether anyone has fallen ill from the Dutch strain.
In Berlin, the Robert Koch Institute said the rate of new illnesses was declining in the deadly E. coli outbreak. It said 2,808 people have been sickened in Germany, 722 of whom are suffering from a serious complication that can cause kidney failure. But it was not clear whether the epidemic was waning, or people were just successfully shunning fruit and vegetables.
The World Health Organization said 97 others have fallen sick in 12 other European countries, as well as three in the United States. Germany's Lower Saxony state health ministry said two more people died after being infected - a 20-year-old woman and an 68-year-old man.
European Union farmers said they have been losing up to 417 million euros (US$604 million) a week as ripe produce rots on fields and in warehouses.
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