An E.coli outbreak which started in north Germany has already caused the deaths of 14 people, with more than 300 seriously ill.
Experts are warning that the worse is still to come. Other cases have been reported in the UK, Sweden, Denmark, France and the Netherlands, all linked to travel in Germany.
E. coli is a bacterium which lives in the gut of humans and animals. Usually harmless, some strains can produce toxins which cause fatal disease in humans. People are usually infected after eating undercooked meat or eating vegetables grown on land which has been contaminated.
Several of the cases in Germany have been linked to eating contaminated organic cucumbers from Spain. However, it is still not clear whether they are the original source of the bacteria, or became contaminated in Germany from another source.
Travellers in Germany are now being advised by the UK Health Protection Agency to avoid eating raw cucumbers, lettuce and tomatoes.
The current outbreak is caused by a rare and particularly virulent strain of E.coli, known as E.coli (VTEC) O104. Usually young children, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems are most at risk from infection, but in Germany the outbreak is mainly affecting adults – almost 70 per cent of whom are women.
How can I protect myself from E. coli?
There are four main areas where you can follow good practice to ensure that you minimize any risks: - Personal hygiene - Food storage - Food preparation - Cooking
Personal Hygiene
Always wash your hands after using the bathroom, before handling food and after handling raw meat. This will help to stop bacteria being transferred from raw to fresh or already cooked foods.
Food storage
- Check your fridge is at the correct temperature for storing food – between 0 and 5 - degrees centigrade
- Always store fresh food in the fridge. The bacterium thrives at warmer temperatures
- Keep bottles and jars closed
- Cover leftovers and keep them in the fridge
- Eat leftovers within 2 days (1 day for rice based dishes)
- Keep raw meats away from cooked meats
- Store raw meats at the bottom of the fridge (to stop juices dripping onto other foods)
Food preparation
- Wash your hands before handling food
- Dry hands as wet hands can transfer bacteria more easily
- Keep raw fish and meat separate from other food, including food which has been already cooked
- Never use knives and other utensils on raw meats and fish and then on other foods
- Always wash salads, including those which are pre-washed
- Clean kitchen surfaces regularly
Cooking
Cooking at the correct temperature kills the bacteria. Undercooked food is a major cause of food poisoning. All parts of the food should reach 70 degrees centigrade for at least 2 minutes.
For rare beef and lamb make sure that the outside is properly cooked as this is where the bacteria are found.
Pork and rolled joints of other meats should not be served rare. The juices should have no pink or red in them.
Minced meats, sausages, pork, chicken, kebabs, burgers and chicken nuggets should always be fully cooked.
A description of how the bacteria E. coli is transmitted
E. coli (short for Escherichia coli) is one of several bacteria that normally live in our intestines - one gram of faeces contains a billion E.coli cells! These cause no problems, but the bacterium can change properties and produce new strains such as type E.coli 0157:H7, which has acquired a gene that makes it produce a powerful, potentially lethal, toxin.
This dangerous bacterium has caused alarming breakouts of food poisoning. In America, 65 people in seven states contracted E. Coli infection from contaminated unpasteurised apple juice. In a case in Japan nearly 10,000 became ill and 12 deaths were reported as a result of slovenly hygiene attitudes by butchers. In November '96, central Scotland witnessed its worst ever breakout of E.coli 0157 food poisoning with more than 140 infected cases and several deaths. An 80yr old church elder was the first to die. Children and the elderly are affected more seriously.
E.coli 0157 is named the 'hamburger bug', as minced meat can become a breeding ground for this dangerous bug which is often found in cattle and sheep. The bacterium is killed by thorough cooking - heating at 70 C for two minutes. The Scottish outbreak which was traced to cooked beefburgers, sausage rolls and pies from one butcher's shop, suggesting that the infected meat hadn't been adequately cooked. E.coli can also be transmitted through milk, cheese and untreated water, though some outbreaks have been traced to the storage of cooked meats below uncooked meats in the fridge, so that infected dangerous juices have dropped onto the lower shelves and their contents.
Other cases of E.coli have resulted from person to person transmission. Washing hands before handling food and especially after visits to the 'loo', will reduce this avenue of infection.
After 24hrs of infection with E.coli 0157, severe abdominal pain is experienced along with profuse watery diarrhoea and heavy blood loss via the rectum. A high fever develops and dehydration may ensue. After 10 days about 5% of sufferers develop kidney failure and sudden destruction of their red blood cells.
Treatment consists of counteracting the dehydration and loss of salts and minerals, with severe cases needing hospitalisation.
