Crisis consultations are being held in Berlin today about the outbreak of the intestinal bacteria EHEC.
The EHEC bacterium has already claimed ten lives in Germany. The Federal Government, state authorities and authorities in the fields of health and agriculture are involved in this crisis meeting present.
Contamination
In Germany, more than a thousand people have probably become ill with an exceptionally aggressive variant of the intestinal bacterium EHEC † Infection cases have also been reported in neighboring countries, including the Netherlands. Almost all of these people have recently been to Germany.
Denmark and Sweden
Also in Denmark and Sweden, almost forty infections have already been reported † Authorities reported last Sunday that all of these patients had traveled to Germany before falling ill. Both countries have urged people to be careful, especially with food, when traveling to Germany.
No raw food
The German authorities first want to determine the source of the contamination † There is a strong suspicion that the bacterium via imported cucumbers was brought to Germany. But this is not quite certain yet.
As long as it has not yet been established where the EHEC bacteria comes from, it is better to leave raw vegetables such as lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes. According to agriculture minister Ilse Aigner.
Keep an eye on Sante.nl for more updates on the EHEC bacteria.
