[Benjamin]

E. coli outbreak is a new strain
By James Gallagher


The World Health Organization says the E. coli outbreak in Germany is a completely new strain of the bacteria.

The infection can cause the deadly complication - haemolytic-uraemic syndrome - affecting the blood and kidneys.

More than 1,500 people have been infected and 17 have died: 16 in Germany and one in Sweden.

In the UK, three British nationals have been infected, according to the Health Protection Agency.

Aphaluck Bhatiasevi, a WHO spokesperson, is reported as saying: "This strain has never been seen in an outbreak situation before."

Scientists at the Beijing Genomics Institute, in China, are also reported as saying: "This E.coli is a new strain of bacteria that is highly infectious and toxic."

Researchers in Germany say preliminary genetic analysis of the outbreak suggests the bacteria is unique.

Health advice
Wash fruit and vegetables before eating them
Peel or cook fruit and vegetables
Wash hands regularly to prevent person-to-person spread of E. coli strain
Source: UK Health Protection Agency

They say it has genes from two distinct groups of E. coli: enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC) and enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC).

The Health Protection Agency told the BBC that we were at the beginning of the learning curve in terms of understanding what this means.

Europe

The outbreak remains centred on Germany where there have been 1,064 cases of bloody diarrhoea and 470 cases of the potentially deadly complication in the blood and kidneys.

The source of the infection, originally blamed on Spanish cucumbers, is unclear.

HUS cases and deaths, by country

Germany: 470 cases, 16 deaths
Sweden: 15 cases, one death
Denmark: Seven cases
The Netherlands: Three cases
UK: Three cases
Spain: One case

Sources: European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Robert Koch Institute, UK Health Protection Agency

The head of the Robert Koch Institute, which monitors the infection in Germany, said the outbreak could last for months and that "we may never know" the original source.

Fresh vegetables from the European Union have been banned in Russia and the country's chief medical officer said such produce will be seized.

Meanwhile Spain is threatening to seek compensation from the EU for lost vegetables sales.

UK cases

Three British nationals in the UK have been infected with E. coli linked to the outbreak in Germany, according to the Health Protection Agency.

It brings the total number of cases in the UK to seven, the other four are from Germany.

It is believed that all patients caught the infection in Germany and brought it back to the UK.

Three of them have developed the potentially deadly complication of haemolytic-uraemic syndrome.

The HPA continues to advise that people travelling to Germany should not eat raw cucumber, lettuce or tomatoes and that they should seek medical advice if they have bloody diarrhoea.

It said one of the strange things about the outbreak was the number of cases of haemolytic uraemic syndrome. It is a very severe kidney complication which destroys red blood cells and can also affect the central nervous system.

Dr Dilys Morgan, from the Health Protection Agency, said: "It's very unusual for adults to have HUS anyway.


Dr Dilys Morgan from the Health Protection Agency says the E. coli outbreak is 'alarming'
"It mainly affects young children and older adults, but what we've seen is predominantly young females getting this condition.

"It's a very rare organism that's causing this and it's thought it has particular properties where the toxin it produces is particularly virulent and therefore is affecting this population more than we would normally expect."

Professor Hugh Pennington, a microbiologist from the University of Aberdeen, said: "This outbreak is unusual in that it doesn't seem to be targeting young children.

"Children under five have had a very hard time with this kind of bug in the past, they seem to be escaping it, maybe just due to the nature of the food that's causing the problem."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-13626499