WHO says E. coli strain responsible for European outbreak is new strain never detected before

[Jan Klimkowski]

The Germans have stopped blaming Spanish salad vegetables and have instead turned their ire on the humble beansprout:

E coli outbreak: German officials identify beansprouts as likely source

German health officials warn people to stop eating beansprouts as death toll rises to 22

Staff and agencies guardian.co.uk, Sunday 5 June 2011 17.09 BST

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 coli victims, 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.