Sprouts clear cause of EHEC symptoms

Sprouts cause massive occurrence of dangerous EHEC symptoms

10/06/2011

The cause of EHEC infections is apparently clear. After the Lower Saxony Minister of Agriculture Gert Lindemann had blamed the sprouts of an organic farm in the district of Uelzen last Sunday for the mass occurrence of EHEC symptoms, now comes the Robert Koch Institute to the conclusion that the sprouts in all likelihood the source of EHEC infections form - at the same all-clear was granted for the previously suspected tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce.

The riddle of the spread of current EHEC infections seems to be solved. The President of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) Reinhard Burger explained that the sprouts of the Uelzener organic farm as a source of infection „limited“ could become. Together with the Federal Office for Consumer Protection and the Federal Office for Risk Assessment, the RKI today announced in Berlin that bean sprouts could have been identified as a clear cause of the mass occurring EHEC symptoms.

First evidence of EHEC pathogens on bean sprouts
Although at the time of the press conference there was still no clear proof of the pathogen strain HUSEC 041 (serotype O104: H4) responsible for the current EHEC infection wave on the organic sprouts, the authorities unanimously concluded that the EHEC infections differ from the Biobetrieb in Uelzen from have spread. Although there is no evidence of the pathogen on the bean sprouts, but based on the delivery routes, the sprouts could be clearly identified as a source of infection, said RKI President Reinhard Burger this morning. During the review of the delivery documents and the intensive questioning of the patients, the indications of the sprouts as a possible cause of the EHEC infections have compressed to the extent that the authorities assume a clear determination of the infection source - even if HUSEC 041 has not been detected on the sprouts to date could be. However, following the joint press conference of the RKI, the Federal Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety and the Federal Office for Risk Assessment, the Dusseldorf Consumer Protection Ministry announced that researchers from North Rhine-Westphalia have detected the dangerous EHEC pathogen HUSEC 041 on the sprouts of the Uelzen organic farm for the first time. However, a final review of the results is still pending.

From the EHEC symptoms to the source of the infections
The authorities came to the forefront of the EHEC pathogens by intensively interviewing all patients with severe EHEC symptoms about their previous meals and other potential sources of infection. It was also helpful in identifying the source of infection that people who had been living in the same communal facility or restaurant frequently became ill. The inspection of the delivery notes already gave some indications of a possible infection by the sprouts. Finally, the photos of a tour group, the experts in the search for the origin of EHEC infections helped, reported Reinhard Burger. The participants had taken their food during a restaurant visit and after some of them suffered from clear EHEC symptoms, the experts took a closer look at the pictures. They discovered on the salad plates of those affected the bean sprouts now named as the cause of the EHEC infection wave. However, despite earlier signs of sprouts as the source of EHEC infection, a statistically reliable testimony was not possible because only a sufficient number of infected restaurant visitors needed to be known and available, the RKI president said.

People Main reservoir of the new EHEC pathogen?
In addition to the clear determination of the EHEC infection source, the authorities were also able to announce further details on the new, particularly aggressive pathogen strain HUSEC 041. Contrary to conventional enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC), the main reservoir of HUSEC 041 does not appear to be in ruminants but in humans. The Münster EHEC expert Helge Krach explained that the new EHEC pathogen so far only occurs in humans and therefore it can be assumed that humans form the reservoir of the outbreak strain. A similar assessment is made by the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment in Berlin. The facts provide several indications that humans are the source of the contamination of food and the environment with the dangerous pathogen HUSEC 041, said the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment.

Decay of the EHEC infection wave in sight
In view of the clear determination of the source of EHEC infection, the authorities gave the all-clear for the previously suspected tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce. The farmers were relieved and overseas welcomed the all-clear. The Russian government said that the stopped EU imports of vegetables should be re-authorized in a timely manner. As soon as the guarantee for the safety of the vegetables has been confirmed, the import of vegetables from the EU will resume, said Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev following a meeting with the EU leadership. Overall, the situation around the current EHEC epidemic in Germany seems to be slowly relaxing. Not only could the source of infection be located, but also the declining numbers of infections indicate that the wave of infection is subsiding. In addition, the physicians seem to have adjusted in the wake of the crisis, always better on the treatment of patients with severe EHEC symptoms. While initially the disease has been exacerbated by the wrong medical treatment (for example, with antibiotics), doctors are now more aware of the symptoms of EHEC infections and know what options for action exist. (Fp)

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Picture: Markus Wegner