Word of an E. coli outbreak occurring in Germany started to make the rounds this weekend, and by today the outbreak is becoming even more widespread. Hundreds centered in Hamburg have fallen ill with E. coli infections and as many as 16 E. coli related deaths have been recorded, including a victim in Sweden who had recently been traveling in Germany.
"Here in Hamburg we're pretty much at the epicenter," said Hamburg Medical Center medical director Jorg Debatin during an interview with CNN. According to the news source, Debatin’s hospital has received up to 700 E. coli infected patients, with about 20% to 30% of them developing hemolytic-uremic syndrome, or HUS, a severe and life-threatening complication of the E. coli infection.
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Initial reports from the European Food Safety Alert Network stated that E. coli had been found in organic cucumbers imported from Spain, a fact that led to German officials initially attributing the entire outbreak to Spanish vegetable imports. Spanish officials have vehemently denied this, pointing to the fact that the cucumbers were packaged in Germany and distributed to a variety of countries. So far, there has been no definitive answer of where the initial infection occurred.
In response, Spanish officials are demanding compensation for the plummeting sales Spanish farmers have suffered – according to The Guardian, Austria and Russia have banned the import of vegetables from Spain as a result of Germany’s assumption that Spanish produce is to blame. "Germany should stop looking at Spain," said Spanish agriculture minister Rosa Aguilar, suggesting that a local cause may be just as likely for the outbreak. "We are disappointed with the way that Germany has dealt with this crisis."
