THE DEATH TOLL from the deadly E. coli outbreak in Germany and other parts of Europe has risen to 22, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention.
The news comes as German health officials said on Sunday that German-grown bean sprouts were likely to have caused the outbreak.
Lower Saxony agriculture ministry spokesman Gert Hahne told The Associated Press that his state was sending an alert warning people to stop eating the sprouts, which are often used in mixed salads.
All but one of the deaths occurred in Germany with the Stockholm-based centre saying that 1,605 cases of enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) infection have been recorded and 658 others have the associated condition haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS).
The death toll had previously been reported to be 18 with all of the cases in Germany. A further death has occurred in Sweden with a further three cases of people dying from the illness reported, all in Germany.
The centre has published a table breaking down the number of cases and deaths.
Earlier today it was reported that German hospitals were being overwhelmed by the number of cases of E. coli.
Scientists and researchers analysing the source of the outbreak have also suggested it could have come from a restaurant in the northern city of Lübeck where 17 people were reported to have fallen ill with E. coli last month.
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