German authorites advise public not to eat cucumbers after E.coli outbreak
Cucumbers could be the cause of a major E.coli outbreak which has killed two people, officials in Germany have said, and recommended that Germans cut cucumbers from their diet for now.
Germany is struggling with the explosion of cases in which 276 sufferers were diagnosed with the rare virulent ’HUS’ strain – haemolytic uraemic syndrome.
The authorities advised people not to eat cucumbers and to cut raw tomatoes and lettuce from their diets until the outbreak sources were identified.
Those in the north of the country were thought to be more at risk.
England has so far seen three cases in German nationals, two with HUS and one with bloody diarrhoea.
The Health Protection Agency said that German authorities have identified organic cucumbers from Almeria and Malaga in Spain, as one source of the outbreak.
Investigations are ongoing in Germany to identify other potential sources, while a third suspect batch of cucumbers from Holland is also under investigation.
Some food products were also withdrawn from the German market.
The British Food Standards Agency is monitoring the situation and stressed there was no evidence that any affected organic cucumbers from the sources identified were distributed to the UK.
The HPA said anyone returning from Germany with illness, including bloody diarrhoea, should seek urgent medical attention and mention their travel history.
