Killer E.coli strain infects first victims in Britain

[Parihaka]

Killer E.coli strain infects first victims in Britain

The deadly new strain of E.coli that has killed 18 people in Europe risks spreading from person to person in Britain, the Health Protection Agency warned last night.

As seven cases of the food poisoning bacteria were diagnosed in Britain, the agency said that the mutant strain was so virulent that sufferers risked spreading the infection to friends and relations through close contact.

With more than 30,000 people travelling between Britain and Germany every day, officials fear the outbreak could take hold here.

The agency said anyone who had recently travelled to Germany should be vigilant about their personal hygiene to minimise the risk of passing on the bacteria, which can attack the kidneys with potentially fatal consequences.

The outbreak is on course to be the world’s “biggest ever”, according to one of the country’s leading microbiologists. The agency added that it was shocked by its “unprecedented” scale and severity. More than 1,600 people have been infected worldwide, mainly in northern Germany. Hundreds have been left seriously ill and at least 18 have died.

It emerged last night that the food bug has struck two Americans who had recently travelled to Hamburg. Both are expected to survive but experts warned that the bacteria could be exported to the US.

The World Health Organisation identified the bacterium as a “completely new” mutant strain which was more toxic and infectious than usual varieties. It is resistant to antibiotics and has an eight-day incubation period, which means that the outbreak may not have reached a peak.

It can cause the deadly complication haemolytic-uraemic syndrome (HUS) which affects the blood and kidneys. The Food Standards Agency said that contaminated produce had not entered the British food chain, although several supermarkets confirmed last night that they were still importing produce from Germany.
Experts are still unable to say where the outbreak originated, having ruled out the initial theory that it came from a consignment of Spanish cucumbers. Fears have heightened to such an extent that Russia yesterday banned the import of all raw vegetables from Europe.
The HPA said the seven cases diagnosed in Britain involved people who had recently travelled to Germany. Three are seriously ill with the HUS complication. Dr Bob Adak, an expert in gastrointestinal infections at the agency, said his organisation had interviewed the families of those involved and advised them to take precautions to avoid a secondary spread of the bacteria.
“We’re extremely concerned by it,” he said. “We are on the lookout for secondary infections, because it is quite infectious you don’t need many bacteria on your hand to spread it.
“People have got to be very careful, in the first instance those who are most at risk are other family members. People who have been to Germany and come back should be careful with their hygiene.
“If they experience abdominal cramps or diarrhoea they should seek medical advice. This illness can develop and spread very quickly. If you have young children in the house you want to protect them.”
E.coli is usually contracted by eating contaminated food, but it can spread from person to person if the strain is infectious enough. People must be particularly careful to wash their hands thoroughly after using the lavatory.
Hilde Kruse, a food safety expert at the WHO, said the strain had characteristics which made it “more virulent and toxin-producing”. Preliminary genetic sequencing suggests that the strain is a new, mutant form of two different E.coli bacteria, according to the WHO. “This is a unique strain that has never been isolated from patients before,” Miss Kruse added.
Unlike previous outbreaks, this strain of E.coli mainly attacks women rather than children or elderly people. More than three quarters of those suffering from serious kidney problems are adult women. Dr Adak added: “The most simple explanation is that because women tend to eat more salad than men and children their risk becomes higher.”
Dr Alexander Mellmann, the scientist who mapped the DNA of the bacteria at the University of Munster in Germany, told The Daily Telegraph that the bacteria had evolved to become more toxic and better at “sticking” to human cells, increasing the chance of infection.
Scientists believe the strain originated in animals such as cattle before spreading to vegetables. The HPA is advising people travelling to Germany to wash salads and to avoid eating raw tomatoes, cucumbers and leafy salads.
Tesco yesterday said it has “small quantities” of cauliflower, cabbage and sweetcorn from Germany in its stores, adding that its suppliers observe the “strictest hygiene standards”. Lidl said it stocks cauliflower from Germany.
The seven people infected in the UK include four German nationals and three British people who recently visited Germany. Three of them are seriously ill with HUS. The other four have suffered from bloody diarrhoea.
Germany has reported 470 cases of HUS and 1,064 cases of bloody diarrhoea. Austria, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland have also reported cases, almost all in people who have just returned from Germany.
The Food Standards Agency in Britain has issued general advice on the need to wash fruit and vegetables. Peeling or cooking fruit and vegetables is also known to help remove germs.

[Swift Sword]

Perhaps the Good Colonel in Tripoli is using BW efforts in an agronomic offset against the low hanging fruit.

The only thing to put below suspicion is suspicion itself.

W.

[dave lukins]

A friend of mine arrived today from his home near Hamburg. He will be in the UK for approx' two weeks. Is it possible to survive welded up in his car for that long

[dave lukins]

Perhaps the Good Colonel in Tripoli is using BW efforts in an agronomic offset against the low hanging fruit.

The only thing to put below suspicion is suspicion itself.

W.

Do we need to set up an Anti-Agronomy Warfare Unit in every battle group?

[kato]

Germany has reported 470 cases of HUS and 1,064 cases of bloody diarrhoea.

Plus 500 suspected cases. Reported cases growing by about 20-30% per day. And it will grow a lot more since the Robert Koch Institute yesterday called on all hospitals in Germany to report any cases of EHEC suspicion.

Edit:

Preliminary genetic sequencing suggests that the strain is a new, mutant form of two different E.coli bacteria, according to the WHO.

It's not a mutant strain, it's a case of two bacteria combining genetic material (vulgo: having sex). Their "child" exhibits some characteristica of either "parent".

[crooks]

No cases in Ireland yet, thankfully, scant comfort at the thought of other Europeans dying though. I think most governments have been fairly responsible, frankly the only option is to strong advise people to avoid cucumbers and tomatos (kids will love that!) until the scope is clear. It's killing people (admittidly a small proportion of those infected), so best not take the risk, regardless of the damage to trade. Humans first, and all that jazz.

On that issue it was funny to see Spanish farmers dumping cucumbers outside the German embassy, apparantly Zapatero is looking for compensation at EU level.

[Double Edge]

Is it possible to survive welded up in his car for that long

A bacteria ought to survive a trip of indefnite duration in space.

Its virus that cannot survive very long outside a host.

[Parihaka]

A bacteria ought to survive a trip of indefnite duration in space.
.

So Tankie will be okay then?

[Double Edge]

hehe, where is mr.bacteriological

[kato]

Current statistics for Germany:

- 3,408 people infected total (2,610 EHEC, 798 HUS)
- 38 people dead (13 EHEC, 25 HUS)

Infection rate has stabilized at about +100 per day, with HUS at about +15. The overall infection numbers for the timeframe exceed natural occurence of EHEC about 30-fold and HUS about 100-fold.
75% of infected (HUS: 76%) are living in 4 North-German states. 32 out of 38 EHEC/HUS deaths occured in the same states.

Scientists have by now proven that EHEC can be transferred by people to food and other people; in one case, a catering service employee infected with EHEC was identified as the source of 45 EHEC and 20 HUS cases at a party the company catered for.

[tankie]

So Tankie will be okay then?

Well if the fatality in Britain was killed by a cucumber , fingers crossed it was ,,,,,you know who

[bigross86]

Are hamburgers the new E. coli threat?

Published 18:07 16.06.11
Latest update 18:07 16.06.11

Are hamburgers the new E. coli threat?
Seven children hospitalized with E.coli infection after eating hamburgers bought at French branches of German supermarket chain Lidl; death toll from Germany's E. coli outbreak rises to 39.
By News Agencies

Seven children have been hospitalized with E. coli infections after eating hamburgers that may contain meat from Germany, where an outbreak of the bacteria has left 39 people dead, according to an AFP report.

The children – the youngest of which is 20 months old – had eaten defrosted "Steak Country" hamburgers, manufactured by the French company SEB.

SEB says that although their meat is processed in France, it is taken from animals in three European countries: Germany, Belgium and Holland, according to SEB chief executive Guy Lamorlette. "There are several suppliers. We will have to await the test results to say which is contaminated," he said.

According to AFP, the "Steak Country" burgers were bought in French branches of the German supermarket Lidl. SEB said it had recalled them and Lidl said it had removed them from its shelves in France.

The death toll in Europe's E. coli outbreak rose to 39 on Thursday, as Germany's disease control center reported that one more patient died. The Robert Koch Institute, however, said the number of new infections is continuing to tail off.

Thirty-eight people have now died in Germany and one in Sweden since the outbreak began in late May. Last week, the outbreak was traced to sprouts from a farm in northern Germany.

A spokesman for the Regional Health Agency (ARS) in Lille, northern France, where six of the children were hospitalized on Wednesday, told AFP, "They are in a serious but not worrying state. Their lives are not at all in danger."

Authorities said a seventh child was taken to hospital on Thursday.

The ARS official told AFP the children suffered from bloody diarrhea, a symptom also suffered by victims in Germany.

But health authorities said the French infections – a rare strain of the E. coli bacteria – were not linked to the outbreak in Germany, according to the AFP report.

Germany's disease control center says the number of reported infections in Germany now stands at 3,304, including 786 people who have developed a serious complication that can lead to kidney failure.

The World Health Organization says more than 100 people have been infected in 13 other European countries, Canada and the United States.

[ArmchairGeneral]

A bacteria ought to survive a trip of indefnite duration in space.

Its virus that cannot survive very long outside a host.

Only bacteria capable of sporulation or something similar have such survival capabilities. And there are plenty of viruses that can last for a long time in the environment. It's mainly the enveloped viruses such as flu, HIV, and Ebola that are extremely fragile, and even some enveloped viruses are surprisingly tough.

[kato]

Are hamburgers the new E. coli threat?

Has already been discarded - those kids had regular harmless e.coli, not the dangerous O104blahblah strain.

Italy has confiscated about 100 tons of hamburger meat from Lidl for testing btw.

[ArmchairGeneral]

Has already been discarded - those kids had regular harmless e.coli, not the dangerous O104blahblah strain.

Er...they were hospitalized. That doesn't sound particularly harmless.