PEOPLE IN GERMANY have been warned not to eat raw cucumbers following a deadly E.coli outbreak that has claimed ten lives and made hundreds of people ill across the country.
It is believed that organic cucumbers imported from Spain to Germany may have been one source of the outbreak, the BBC reports. The Spanish authorities have insisted that so far there is no evidence to support the suggestion that the contaminated food originated in the country, however two farms in Malaga and Almeria have been closed down for examination.
It is also thought that the source of the E.coli could be the Netherlands or Denmark, reports Food Safety News. The EU has warned that contaminated vegetables may have been transported to countries such as Czech Republic, Denmark, Austria, Luxembourg or Hungary.
The Irish Times reports that the German authorities have dismissed the suggestion cucumbers were the sole source of the outbreak – and added that the epidemic has yet to peak.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland has said that there was “no information” to indicate that contaminated food is on sale in Ireland, the Irish Times reports.
Vegetable sources of E.coli poisoning are often raw tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce. Symptoms include diarrhoea, abdominal cramps, fever and vomiting.
Most people recover within ten days, however children are particularly vulnerable to the disease.
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