E. coli outbreak: German beansprouts 'probable' cause

[The Dragon Master]

Beansprouts grown in northern Germany are suspected to be the source of an E. coli outbreak that has left 22 people dead, local officials say.



The agriculture minister for Lower Saxony, Gert Lindemann, said there was a clear trail of evidence pointing to a plant nursery south of Hamburg.



The nursery has been closed, though officials say the outbreak's source cannot yet be definitively confirmed.



Germans are being advised to stop eating the beansprouts.



The BBC's Stephen Evans in Berlin says the announcement may cause embarrassment to German authorities, who had earlier pointed to Spanish farms as the source of the outbreak.



More than 2,150 people in Germany have been infected by enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) bacteria. Many have developed haemolytic-uraemic syndrome (HUS), which can be fatal.



Cases have been concentrated in the northern city of Hamburg, with infections in 12 other countries linked to travel in Germany.



Twenty-one of the victims have died in Germany, and one person in Sweden.

Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13662431