The deadly outbreak of European E. coli has produced great distressed on people all over the world as well as to those medical personnel in lab coats and nursing scrubs. Even the World Health Organization (WHO) said that this European E- coli is a
unique strain that has never been isolated from patients before. The new strain has “various characteristics that make it more virulent and toxin-producing” than the many E. coli strains people naturally carry in their intestines. Let me give you an excerpt of the news that I got from
healtzone.ca.
Researchers have so far been unable to pinpoint the cause of the illness, which has now spread to at least 10 European countries and fanned uncertainty about eating tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce. The strain has sickened more than 1,500 people, including 470 who have developed a rare kidney failure complication, and killed 18 — most of them in Germany, the country hardest hit.
However, scientists and other people that are usually wearing nursing scrubs and lab coats made a way to know more about this E. coli strain.
Scientists sequencing the bacteria strains found in the outbreak said it was caused by “an entirely new super-toxic E. Coli strain” that several antibiotic resistant genes, according to a statement from the Shenzhen, China-based laboratory, BGI. The researchers were working together with scientists from the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf.
Hilde Kruse, a food safety expert at WHO said it’s not uncommon for bacteria to continually mutate, evolving and swapping genes. It is difficult to explain where the new strain came from, she said, but said strains of bacteria from both humans and animals easily trade genes, similar to how animal viruses like Ebola sometimes jump into humans.
Previous E. Coli outbreaks have mainly hit children and the elderly, but the European outbreak is disproportionately affecting adults, especially women. Kruse said there might be something particular about the bacteria strain that makes it more dangerous for adults.
The outbreak is already considered the third-largest involving E. coli in recent world history, and it may be the deadliest. Twelve people died in a 1996 Japanese outbreak that reportedly sickened more than 9,000, and seven died in a 2000 Canadian outbreak.
The effect...
Fearful of the outbreak spreading east to Russia, the country extended a ban on vegetables to the entire European Union from just Germany and Spain, a move the bloc quickly called disproportionate.
Recommendation...
The WHO recommends that to avoid food-borne illnesses people wash their hands before eating or cooking food, separating raw and cooked meat from other foods, thoroughly cooking food, and washing fruits and vegetables, especially if eaten raw. Experts also recommend peeling raw fruits and vegetables if possible.
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