Bean sprouts clearly were the source of EHEC

According to the latest information of various radio stations and the Süddeutsche Zeitung, the German authorities are now certain that bean sprouts caused the Ehec epidemic in Germany. They have not been able to establish final proof, but the Robert Koch Institute (responsible for disease control and prevention), after examining the supply channels, has narrowed down the source with a high degree of probablility to bean sprouts. The warning not to eat raw tomatoes, cucumbers and leaf salad has been lifted.
 

It was like a court examining the evidence: The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety and the Robert Koch Institute questioned five groups, including travel groups and clubs. Of 112 people involved, 19 fell ill after they had all visited a restaurant. With the help of documentation like lists of orders and invoices, information from chefs and photos, it was established that the customers who had eaten bean sprouts had an almost nine-times higher risk of contracting Ehec than the others. This new study and retracing the supply routes of food items clearly implicate the farm in Bienenbüttel in Lower Saxony that was already under suspicion (see our earlier report). Having examined the evidence, a link was established between the Naturland-certified farm (that has now been closed) and the 26 sites of the outbreak of infection.

In the meantime, the Ehec pathogen O 104 has been found in an old pack of bean sprouts that caused a mother and daughter to become ill some time ago. All the farm’s products have already been removed from the market. The death of over 30 people in Germany has now been attributed to Ehec O 104