Berlin (dpa) - Two victims of a potentially fatal strain of
e-coli have been placed on artificial respiration machines, a
Frankfurt hospital said Monday, while hospitals across Germany were
reporting a surge in infections.
EHEC, or Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli, is a virulent
strain of gut bacterium which can cause stomach cramps and
diarrhoea, and can lead to anaemia and kidney damage.
In Frankfurt, 10 people had been hospitalized, of whom four were
in intensive care, while a further 50 people were ill with mild
symptoms of EHEC, health authorities reported.
A total of 40 people were being treated in Hamburg, most of whom
were female, the city's health authorities said.
Four patients, some of them with serious symptoms, were under
observation in the northern city of Rostock, and cases had also been
registered in Lower Saxony, Bremen and Schleswig Holstein.
Around 800 to 1,200 cases of EHEC are recorded in Germany each
year, predominantly affecting children. The current outbreak is
unusual for causing severe symptoms in adults.
The bacterium is commonly transmitted through contaminated raw or
undercooked ground meat products or milk, but disease experts said
there was evidence that uncooked vegetables might have helped to
spread the latest outbreak.
Copyright 2011 dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH