E. coli outbreak new strain, says WHO

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The World Health Organisation 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. 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.”

Preliminary genetic analysis of the outbreak suggests the bacteria is unique. Early evidence suggests the bacteria has genes from two distinct groups of E. coli: enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC) and enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC). The Health Protection Agency said they were at the beginning of the learning curve in terms of understanding what this means.  Meanwhile Spain is threatening to seek compensation from the EU for lost vegetables sales.

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 (HUS). 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. It mainly affects young children and older adults, but what we’ve seen is predominantly young females getting this condition.”—BBC Health