Beansprouts blamed for E.coli outbreak

This is the second time that a possible source has been identified before tests have subsequently cast doubt on suspicions. It means that health officials in Germany are back to square one in their search for the origin of the outbreak.

It had been thought that beansprouts grown on a farm in Lower Saxony were the origin of this outbreak of E.coli which led to the Gaertnerhof Bienenbuettel farm being closed.

Klaus Verbeck, managing director of the farm, told a German newspaper that no fertilisers are used to produce his beansprouts and that there are no animals on his organic farm.

More than 2,260 people have been infected by the food poisoning bug so far, including 11 people in the UK.

It has been one of the most serious outbreaks in recent history and scientists in Germany were confident they had identified Mr Verbeck’s farm as the source.

A spokesman for the Agriculture Minister of Lower Saxony, Gert Hahne, had said “all indications” suggested beansprouts were the cause of the food poisoning outbreak, although it had not yet been conclusively proved.

He said an alert would be issued warning people to avoid the beansprouts but, while any doubt remained over the origins of the outbreak, warnings over eating tomatoes, lettuce and cucumbers would not be lifted.

I can’t understand how the processes we have here and the accusations could possibly fit together Farmer Klaus Verbeck

Meanwhile the farm has been shut and produce recalled. Herr Verbeck said: “I can’t understand how the processes we have here and the accusations could possibly fit together.

“The salad sprouts are grown only from seeds and water, and they aren’t fertilised at all. There aren’t any animal fertilisers used in other areas on the farm either.”

Spanish cucumbers were originally blamed as the source of the illness but this was later revised.

Lawyer Jill Greenfield acted on behalf of victims of Britain's biggest E.coli outbreak at Godstone Farm in Surrey. She told Channel 4 News how an investigation into the source of an outbreak will progress.

The investigation starts when someone presents at their doctor with symptoms - basically blood in diarrhoea - and a sample is sent off to the lab. Because it can take 7-10 days to incubate the E.coli bacteria, results are obviously not available immediately so it can be some time until a positive identification is made. 

Then, in the UK at least, officials from the Health Protection Agency will go through everywhere the person affected has been; who they've met, places they or their family have been and of course what they have eaten. They're looking for patterns and the more victims there are, the easier it is to see links between the cases. 

If a common place or item is identified, then government scientists will do exhaustive testing of things like the water supply or equipment to try to identify where the bacteria has come from. It's a race against time as E.coli ebbs and flows and of course it can take over a week before the bacteria develop. 

We're hearing from colleagues that there's a lot of fear in Hamburg with people walking around thinking, 'Have I got it?' 

Serious outbreak

The World Health Organisation said 22 people had died as a result of the outbreak, 21 of whom are German. There are two different strains of the E.coli bug, both of which have caused fatalities.

In the UK, 11 people have been affected, all of whom were either from or had recently visited northern Germany. The Health Protection Agency (HPA) is urging people returning from Germany with an illness, including bloody diarrhoea, to seek medical attention.

Experts have been warning people to follow good hygiene, including washing hands after using the toilet and before touching food.