Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

German authorities say bean sprouts definitely behind E.coli outbreak

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • German authorities say bean sprouts definitely behind E.coli outbreak

    Jun 5, 11:37 AM EDT


    By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER and TOMISLAV SKARO
    Associated Press




    AP Photo/Focke Strangmann

    http://analytics.apnewsregistry.com/analytics/v2/image.svc/AP/RWS/hosted.ap.org/MAI/V4592-2011-06-05T1137Z/E/prod/AT/A[/IMG] HAMBURG, Germany (AP) -- Health authorities say locally grown beansprouts in northern Germany have been identified as the likely cause of an outbreak of E. coli that has killed at least 22 people and sickened hundreds in Europe.
    Lower Saxony agriculture ministry spokesman Gert Hahne told The Associated Press his state is sending an alert warning people to stop eating the sprouts, which are often used in mixed salads.
    Hahne said official test results have not yet conclusively shown that the Lower Saxony-grown sprouts are to blame but "all indications speak to them being" the cause.

    http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...06-05-11-28-00
    CSI:WORLD http://swineflumagazine.blogspot.com/

    treyfish2004@yahoo.com

  • #2
    Re: Germany: Sprouts likely cause of E. coli outbreak

    Officials: Bean sprouts likely cause of E. coli outbreak

    Hospitals in northern Germany struggle to provide enough beds and medical care for striken patients http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43285439...d_news-europe/
    CSI:WORLD http://swineflumagazine.blogspot.com/

    treyfish2004@yahoo.com

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Germany: Sprouts likely cause of E. coli outbreak

      killer germ EHEC - shoots suspected
      Source appears to be a factory in Lower Saxony Sprouts from a production facility in the district of Uelzen (Lower Saxony) are, according to Lower Saxony's agriculture minister Gert Lindemann (CDU) is a recognizable source of EHEC epidemic. When an employee therefore an EHEC infection was detected, another staff member was also suffering from diarrhea.

      However, the minister said: ". We can not recognize that the farmer with a fault in the development of" some sprout mixtures of the operation thus imports from abroad.

      The conclusions drawn from 19 different types of seed sprouts have been supplied to restaurants and bars as well as health food shops and weekly markets. According to initial findings, but they were not included in other retail outlets.

      In the press conference as Minister of the product among others, the suspected "Sprossfit mild blend ', and it contains sprouts from alfalfa, fenugreek, mung beans, lentils, adzuki beans.

      The sprouts were supplied directly or through intermediaries of restaurants in Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Hesse and Lower Saxony - the spreading area of ​​the intestinal disease!

      The operation of the district Uelzen is closed since Sunday, the product was recalled.

      Nor the EHEC pathogens in sprouts is not established, however, in the laboratory. So far, the study results are based solely on the trade routes.

      Nevertheless, it was certain that a "very strong track down the source of infection" had. "The sequence of events shows very, very strongly that the rungs of a very, very likely to be a clear source of the pathogen," said Lindemann.

      The first six major outbreaks of EHEC pathogen can be, according to the Lower Saxony State Office for Consumer Protection (LAVES) supplies the manufacturer shoot back.

      According to the Office three canteens in Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia and three catering establishments in Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein, intermediaries from the nursery in Bienenbüttel district Uelzen were supplied.

      The Ministry recommends to refrain currently on the consumption of sprouts. It can not be excluded that the contaminated with EHEC pathogens goods had already been fully processed and sold.

      The manager of the establishment concerned, Klaus Verbeck said the "New Osnabruecker Zeitung" that he could make no sense to the allegations against its products. The salad bars would grow only from seed and water and were not fertilized at all. In other divisions of the court will not use animal manure, not even horn meal, Verbeck said the newspaper.

      Both samples were investigated in the past two weeks on your own behalf, as well as studies of the food control had been no EHEC strain result of its products. According to Lindemann, the shoots are produced in the operation in 38 degree hot water vapor. "Optimal conditions for the growth of EHEC pathogen," said Lindemann. The pathogen could have been imported already with the seed from which the shoots were produced.

      According to Lindemann at the start, shaft and shoots were investigated as a possible cause already.

      "But then there was a restriction on three types of vegetables," he said, referring to the warning of cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce. In a total of 500 samples of vegetables so far no EHEC pathogens through the Lower Saxony State Office has been established. Lindemann did not lift yet on Sunday, the consumption warning tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce.

      Meanwhile, 21 deaths to be associated with EHEC. Nationwide, more than 1,500 cases of EHEC and 620 HUS cases have been reported.

      Sprouts were already in Japan 1996 fall associated with EHEC disease is suspected. A final confirmation of the suspected but had not revealed Michael Kuehne said of LAVES. A wave of disease by shoots in Europe is not the LAVES known, he said.
      http://www.bild.de/news/inland/ehec/...3362.bild.html
      CSI:WORLD http://swineflumagazine.blogspot.com/

      treyfish2004@yahoo.com

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Germany: Sprouts likely cause of E. coli outbreak

        German to English translation (Google)

        5.06.2011.EHEC: The trail leads to an organic farm in the district of Uelzen, Hannover (LME) - Lower Saxony's Minister of Agriculture Lindemann announced at a press conference that the authorities of Lower Saxony may have achieved a breakthrough in the search for the source of the deadly EHEC infections is. Numerous epidemiological links point to a seed company in Bienenb?ttel in the district Uelzen. The operation is a "vegan farming community" operated since 1978 and practiced organic farming. The operation covers from various countries around the world and produces seeds derived stem vegetables.

        Also, two employees of the breeder's offspring are suffering from diarrhea, according to Lindemann's - one of them proved to EHEC.

        Intent of the investigators is primarily the "Mild shoot mixture" of the horticulturists. All of the company were precaution, but pulled from the market. The plant is closed since Sunday. "The situation is so clear indications that are recommended, in my view, the consumer must present to refrain from the consumption of sprouts," said Lindemann.

        Lower Saxony's Minister of Agriculture Lindemann called at the press conference including the following shoots, seeds and sprout products: Adzukibohnenkeime, alfalfa sprouts, broccoli sprouts, crunchy mix, pea seeds, chickpea seeds, garlic sprouts, lentil sprouts, "Mild Mix" (from different sprouts: fenugreek, Mungo beans, lentils, adzuki beans, alfalfa), mung bean sprouts, radish sprouts, radish sprouts, red cabbage, sprouts, sunflower seeds, wheat germ, "spicy mixture and onion sprouts.


        "Safety and security don't just happen, they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear."
        -Nelson Mandela

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Germany: Sprouts likely cause of E. coli outbreak

          The manager of the establishment concerned, Klaus Verbeck said the "New Osnabruecker Zeitung" that he could make no sense to the allegations against its products. The salad bars would grow only from seed and water and were not fertilized at all. In other divisions of the court will not use animal manure, not even horn meal, Verbeck said the newspaper
          . If the pathogen was on the raw seed then the source of the seed needs to be traced. Other producers could well end up producing contaminated sprouts.
          "The only security we have is our ability to adapt."

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Germany: Sprouts likely cause of E. coli outbreak

            E. COLI O104 - EUROPEAN UNION (11): CASE UPDATE, POSSIBLE SPROUTSOURCE************************************** *********************************A ProMED-mail post<http://www.promedmail.org>ProMED-mail is a program of theInternational Society for Infectious Diseases<http://www.isid.org>Date: Sun 5 Jun 2011Source: Associated Press [edited]<http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110605/ap_on_he_me/eu_contaminated_vegetables_europe>Initial tests have confirmed that bean sprouts grown in northernGermany are the likely cause of an _E. coli_ [O104:H4] outbreak thathas killed at least 22 people and sickened over 2200, an agricultureofficial said Sun 5 Jun 2011.Different kinds of sprouts from one organic farm in the greaterUelzen area, between the northern cities of Hamburg and Hanover, couldbe traced to infected persons in 5 different German states, LowerSaxony Agriculture Minister Gert Lindemann told reporters. "There weremore and more indications in the last few hours that put the focus onthis farm," Lindemann said at a press conference in Hanover."Many restaurants that suffered from an _E. coli_ outbreak had thosesprouts delivered," his spokesman, Gert Hahne, told The AssociatedPress. The farm was shut down Sunday [5 Jun 2011], and all of itsproduce, including fresh herbs, fruits, flowers and potatoes, wasrecalled. At least one of the farm's employees was also infected withthe _E. coli_ bacteria, the minister said.Lindemann said 18 different sprout mixtures were under suspicion,including sprouts of beans, broccoli, peas, chickpeas, garlic lentils,mungo beans and radish. The sprouts are often used in mixed salads.Lindemann urged Germans to not eat sprouts until further notice andsaid definitive test results would be available Monday [6 Jun 2011].He said authorities could not yet rule out other possible sources forthe outbreak and urged Germans to continue avoiding tomatoes,cucumbers and lettuce until further notice.Sprouts have been implicated in previous _E. coli_ outbreaks,particularly one in Japan in 1996 where tainted radish sprouts werefound to have killed 12 people and reportedly sickened more than 12000 others.The current crisis is the deadliest _E. coli_ outbreak in modernhistory.The head of Germany's national disease control center raised thedeath toll to 22 people on Sunday [5 Jun 2011], 21 in Germany and onein Sweden, and said another 2153 people in Germany have been sickened.That figure included 627 people who have developed a rare, seriouscomplication of the disease that can cause kidney failure. Ten otherEuropean nations and the USA have reported a total of 90 othervictims.[Byline: Kirsten Grieshaber and Tomislav Skaro]--Communicated by:ProMED-mail<promed@promedmail.org>[As the overall number of cases continues to accumulate, it is nowreported that German-grown sprouts may well be the major vehicle. Itis not clearly stated whether the outbreak organism has been isolatedfrom sprouts, but it is reported that a worker from the farm acquiredthe infection. If this farm is the primary source of the organism, thenext step is to find out from where the presumed manure fertilizersource was obtained. The organism itself is distinctly unusual, andefforts should be made to try to assess how Mother Nature put the bugtogether. - Mod.LL]http://www.promedmail.org/pls/otn/f?..._ID:1000,88765
            CSI:WORLD http://swineflumagazine.blogspot.com/

            treyfish2004@yahoo.com

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Germany: Sprouts likely cause of E. coli outbreak

              If this farm is the primary source of the organism, thenext step is to find out from where the presumed manure fertilizersource was obtained.
              The farm owner said they were grown hydroponically though. The contamination must have come from the water/the original seed or someone who handled the produce. I thought that the workers affected had only recently developed symptoms.
              "The only security we have is our ability to adapt."

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Germany: Sprouts likely cause of E. coli outbreak

                EHEC epidemic: Health Minister Bahr expressed cautious about sprouts findings

                Berlin - Federal Health Minister Daniel Bahr (FDP) has expressed caution about evidence of sprout vegetables from Lower Saxony as the cause of the current rampant EHEC disease. although there is clear evidence that a farm in Uelzen could be a source of infection, Bahr said on Sunday evening in the television program "Anne Will '. There was still no security. First, laboratory results should be awaited. Until then, no clear signal could be given. The Minister of Health advised that, therefore, in addition to raw tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuces currently also choose not to shoot vegetables. The President of the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Andreas Hensel, said on ZDF also that you can not even be sure that the scion of vegetables is causing the disease. In Germany, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) 21 deaths with an EHEC infection RELATED. The EHEC bacteria can also cause hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). The symptoms of the illness include watery or bloody diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In a very serious disease threatening kidney failure.


                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Germany: Sprouts likely cause of E. coli outbreak

                  Microbiologist: why sprouts are so dangerous


                  Hamburg.
                  Was it sprouts, which provided for the EHEC epidemic? According to one
                  Microbiologists are a possible intestinal germ carriers very plausible.
                  'Sprouts were from the beginning of the usual suspects, which one
                  would have been able to arrest from the start, "said Alexander Kekul? of
                  the University of Halle-Wittenberg on Monday in the ARD "Morning Magazine". You
                  had a typical vegetable that is on many different meals throughout
                  Germany and is distributed over time and over again Infections
                  can trigger.

                  'We know that this is a particularly dangerous product, "said
                  Kekul?. Sprouts are one of the few exceptions where a few
                  Bacteria in the bud during growth are to remain in the fruit and
                  could not be washed off from the outside
                  . If the
                  Suspicions, the microbiologist provides a good opportunity to
                  Success in the fight against EHEC: 'We are now in a situation where the
                  (...), really true that we know the source and then very very quickly
                  stem the epidemic. "


                  Nachrichten aus Hamburg und der Welt. News aus Politik, Wirtschaft, Sport und Kultur. Alles, was echte Hamburger wissen müssen!

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Germany: Sprouts likely cause of E. coli outbreak

                    'Sprouts were from the beginning of the usual suspects, which one
                    would have been able to arrest from the start, "said Alexander Kekul? of
                    the University of Halle-Wittenberg on Monday in the ARD "Morning Magazine"
                    I have not seen sprouts mentioned as a suspected vegetable in any of the new reports in English that I have read until just recently.

                    http://scienceblogs.com/aetiology/20...nt=channellink
                    E. coli update: sprouts as the culprit?

                    Category: General Epidemiology ? Infectious disease ? Outbreak ? Public health ? Various bacteria
                    Posted on: June 5, 2011 4:15 PM, by Tara C. Smith

                    The E. coli story is moving quickly. A news report out today suggests that sprouts might be the culprit (though it should be emphasized that the outbreak strain hasn't been isolated from these vegetables yet)...

                    Tara C. Smith is an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology. Her research involves a number of pathogens at the animal-human nexus.
                    _____________________________________________

                    Ask Congress to Investigate COVID Origins and Government Response to Pandemic.

                    i love myself. the quietest. simplest. most powerful. revolution ever. ---- nayyirah waheed

                    "...there’s an obvious contest that’s happening between different sectors of the colonial ruling class in this country. And they would, if they could, lump us into their beef, their struggle." ---- Omali Yeshitela, African People’s Socialist Party

                    (My posts are not intended as advice or professional assessments of any kind.)
                    Never forget Excalibur.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Germany: Sprouts likely cause of E. coli outbreak

                      Update from Monstersandcritics:


                      Jan Kielstein, a kidney specialist treating victims at the University of Muenster Hospital in northern Germany, said patients had not mentioned eating the sprouts.
                      'I spoke to two patients this morning, and neither could remember eating them,' he said. 'The word sprouts never came up interviews here.'
                      -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                      In Hamburg an old pack of sprouts was found in the refrigerator of a - now healed - EHEC-patient. The package is from the suspected company in Bienenb&#252;ttel. So we may soon expect clarity.



                      Alte Packung mit Sprossen-Mischung aus Bienenb&#252;ttel gefunden

                      Hamburg (dpa) – In Hamburg ist eine mehrere Wochen alte Packung mit Sprossengem&#252;se aufgetaucht, das f&#252;r die Infektionswelle mit dem gef&#228;hrlichen EHEC-Erreger verantwortlich sein k&#246;nnte. Die Mischung &#171;Milde Sprossen&#187; stammt aus dem Bio-Betrieb in Bienenb&#252;ttel, den die Beh&#246;rden als Infektionsherd im Visier haben. Ein 42-J&#228;hriger hatte die Packung in seinem K&#252;hlschrank vergessen. Er war selbst an EHEC erkrankt, ist aber inzwischen wieder gesund. Mit der alten Packung k&#246;nnte es gelingen, die Infektionsquelle zweifelsfrei nachzuweisen.

                      Focus
                      Last edited by Gert van der Hoek; June 6, 2011, 07:18 AM. Reason: Update
                      ?Addressing chronic disease is an issue of human rights ? that must be our call to arms"
                      Richard Horton, Editor-in-Chief The Lancet

                      ~~~~ Twitter:@GertvanderHoek ~~~ GertvanderHoek@gmail.com ~~~

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Germany: Sprouts likely cause of E. coli outbreak?

                        June 6, 2011

                        First EHEC-testresults at suspect sproutfarm are negative

                        The first batch of 23 from a total of 40 samples from the sproutfarm are tested negative. Samples were taken - among others - from water, tables, airco .


                        Labortest bringt noch keinen Beweis f&#252;r Sprossen-Verdacht

                        Die Quelle f&#252;r den gef&#228;hrlichen Ehec-Keim ist noch immer nicht gefunden: Die ersten 23 Proben aus dem verd&#228;chtigen Betrieb im Kreis Uelzen sind frei von Ehec, das gab das nieders&#228;chsische Verbraucherministerium bekannt. Die Verbraucher m&#252;ssen wohl noch l&#228;nger auf Gewissheit warten.

                        Hannover - Insgesamt hatten die Fahnder auf dem Betrieb demnach 40 Proben entnommen: Unter anderem aus dem Wasser, von Arbeitstischen und aus der L&#252;ftungsanlage. Der kleine Hof in Bienenb&#252;ttel war schon zuvor ins Visier der Ermittler geraten, damals wurde jedoch der Ehec-Keim mit Labortests nicht best&#228;tigt.

                        Spiegel
                        ?Addressing chronic disease is an issue of human rights ? that must be our call to arms"
                        Richard Horton, Editor-in-Chief The Lancet

                        ~~~~ Twitter:@GertvanderHoek ~~~ GertvanderHoek@gmail.com ~~~

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Germany: Sprouts likely cause of E. coli outbreak?

                          Even if a strain match is ever found on one old package of sprouts in a patient's fridge, (post #11),it would not prove anything if the package were opened. The patient could have acquired the strain elsewhere and accidentally contaminated the sprouts.

                          http://www.marketwatch.com/story/e-c...MW_latest_news
                          market pulse

                          June 6, 2011, 3:54 p.m. EDT
                          E. coli outbreak source still unknown: reports
                          _____________________________________________

                          Ask Congress to Investigate COVID Origins and Government Response to Pandemic.

                          i love myself. the quietest. simplest. most powerful. revolution ever. ---- nayyirah waheed

                          "...there’s an obvious contest that’s happening between different sectors of the colonial ruling class in this country. And they would, if they could, lump us into their beef, their struggle." ---- Omali Yeshitela, African People’s Socialist Party

                          (My posts are not intended as advice or professional assessments of any kind.)
                          Never forget Excalibur.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Germany: Sprouts likely cause of E. coli outbreak?

                            Germany says no proof organic sprouts caused E. coli outbreak; expert calls probe a 'disaster'
                            HAMBURG, Germany (AP) First they pointed a finger at Spanish cucumbers. Then they cast suspicion on sprouts from Germany. Now German officials appear dumbfounded as to the source of the deadliest E. coli outbreak in modern history, and one U.S. expert called the investigation a "disaster."
                            Backtracking for the second time in a week, officials Monday said preliminary tests have found no evidence that vegetable sprouts from an organic farm in northern Germany were to blame.
                            The surprise U-turn came only a day after the same state agency, Lower Saxony's agriculture ministry, held a news conference to announce that the sprouts appeared to be the culprit in the outbreak that has killed 22 people and sickened more than 2,330 others across Europe, most of them in Germany, over the past month.
                            Andreas Hensel, head of Germany's Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, warned, "We have to be clear on this: Maybe we won't be able anymore to identify the source."
                            Last week, German officials pointed to tainted cucumbers from Spain as a possible cause, igniting vegetable bans and heated protests from Spanish farmers, who suffered heavy financial losses. Researchers later concluded the Spanish cucumbers were contaminated with a different strain of E. coli.http://www2.wsls.com/news/2011/jun/0...ief-ar-492508/
                            CSI:WORLD http://swineflumagazine.blogspot.com/

                            treyfish2004@yahoo.com

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Germany: Sprouts likely cause of E. coli outbreak

                              Originally posted by Dutchy View Post
                              Update from Monstersandcritics:

                              -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                              In Hamburg an old pack of sprouts was found in the refrigerator of a - now healed - EHEC-patient. The package is from the suspected company in Bienenb&#252;ttel. So we may soon expect clarity.

                              No EHEC-bacteria found in the old pack of sprouts in Hamburg.

                              Untersuchung in Hamburg

                              Sprossenprobe ist EHEC-frei

                              Die von einem Hamburger EHEC-Patienten bei den Beh&#246;rden abgegebene Sprossen-Probe weist keine EHEC-Keime auf. Das sagte Hamburgs Gesundheitssenatorin Cornelia Pr&#252;fer-Storcks. Der 42-j&#228;hrige Hamburger hatte das Sprossengem&#252;se des betroffenen gesperrten Hofs in Niedersachsen im K&#252;hlschrank vergessen.

                              Die mehrere Wochen alte Packung mit dem Verfallsdatum von Ende April h&#228;tte den Beh&#246;rden dabei helfen k&#246;nnen, die Infektionsquelle zweifelsfrei nachzuweisen. Schlie&#223;lich stammt sie aus der Zeit, als sich die Infektion ausgebreitet hatte. Auch neue Laborproben von Sprossengem&#252;se von dem betroffenen Hof in Bienenb&#252;ttel sind bislang ebenfalls negativ ausgefallen.

                              Tagesschau
                              ?Addressing chronic disease is an issue of human rights ? that must be our call to arms"
                              Richard Horton, Editor-in-Chief The Lancet

                              ~~~~ Twitter:@GertvanderHoek ~~~ GertvanderHoek@gmail.com ~~~

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X