Tom
03-06-2011, 13:14
Scientists seek source of outbreak of E.Coli (http://www.tenerifeforum.org/tenerife-forum/Scientists%20seek%20source%20of%20outbreak%20of%20 E.Coli)
Scientists are working to identify the source of an "entirely new super-toxic" strain of E.coli which has infected more than 1,600 people worldwide, including seven in the UK.
Researchers suspect that raw tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce may be the source of the extremely "rare" form of the germ, but have been unable to pinpoint the exact food responsible.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said it was conducting "numerous investigations" into Europe's worst recorded food-poisoning outbreak, which has struck people in 10 countries and killed at least 18.
"While epidemiological and laboratory investigations continue, the source of the outbreak still remains unknown," a statement said.
WHO food safety expert Hilde Kruse said the killer strain was "unique" and "has never been isolated from patients before", adding it had "various characteristics that make it more virulent and toxin-producing".
So far, seven people in the UK have been affected by the outbreak, including three Britons and four German nationals.
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) said all UK cases caught the infection in Germany, where the outbreak began. It has issued a warning urging people travelling to the country to avoid eating raw tomatoes, cucumbers and leafy salad, including lettuce, while experts try to find the source.
Chinese and German researchers from the Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI) said the strain contained several genes that were resistant to antibiotics. Analysis shows the bacterium is an enterohaemorrhagic E.coli (EHEC) O104 strain, but is a "new serotype - not previously involved in any E.coli outbreaks".
More than 90% of the bacterium is the same as a virulent strain that causes serious diarrhoea, but the new strain has "also acquired specific sequences", a BGI statement said. These are similar to those involved in haemorrhagic colitis and haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) - a deadly complication of E.coli which affects the blood, kidneys and, in severe cases, the central nervous system.
HPA officials have urged anyone returning from Germany with an illness, including bloody diarrhoea, to seek medical attention.
Call me a cynic but straight after they killed bin ladin ?
Engineered to be antibiotic resistant ?
Really hope I'm wrong.
Scientists are working to identify the source of an "entirely new super-toxic" strain of E.coli which has infected more than 1,600 people worldwide, including seven in the UK.
Researchers suspect that raw tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce may be the source of the extremely "rare" form of the germ, but have been unable to pinpoint the exact food responsible.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said it was conducting "numerous investigations" into Europe's worst recorded food-poisoning outbreak, which has struck people in 10 countries and killed at least 18.
"While epidemiological and laboratory investigations continue, the source of the outbreak still remains unknown," a statement said.
WHO food safety expert Hilde Kruse said the killer strain was "unique" and "has never been isolated from patients before", adding it had "various characteristics that make it more virulent and toxin-producing".
So far, seven people in the UK have been affected by the outbreak, including three Britons and four German nationals.
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) said all UK cases caught the infection in Germany, where the outbreak began. It has issued a warning urging people travelling to the country to avoid eating raw tomatoes, cucumbers and leafy salad, including lettuce, while experts try to find the source.
Chinese and German researchers from the Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI) said the strain contained several genes that were resistant to antibiotics. Analysis shows the bacterium is an enterohaemorrhagic E.coli (EHEC) O104 strain, but is a "new serotype - not previously involved in any E.coli outbreaks".
More than 90% of the bacterium is the same as a virulent strain that causes serious diarrhoea, but the new strain has "also acquired specific sequences", a BGI statement said. These are similar to those involved in haemorrhagic colitis and haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) - a deadly complication of E.coli which affects the blood, kidneys and, in severe cases, the central nervous system.
HPA officials have urged anyone returning from Germany with an illness, including bloody diarrhoea, to seek medical attention.
Call me a cynic but straight after they killed bin ladin ?
Engineered to be antibiotic resistant ?
Really hope I'm wrong.