German organic sprouts likely source of E.Coli outbreak

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Health Minister Daniel Bahr

HAMBURG (Reuters) - Vegetable sprouts grown on an organic farm in Germany could be the source of the deadly E.coli outbreak that has killed 22 people, made more than 2,200 ill and led Russia to bar EU fruit and vegetable imports, officials said on Sunday.

The Lower Saxony state agriculture minister, Gert Lindemann, told a news conference that investigators have traced the rare, highly toxic strain of the bacteria to a farm in the Uelzen district. Media reports said the farm was near the town of Bienenbuettel, 70 km south of Hamburg.

Health facilities in Hamburg, Germany's second city and the center of the outbreak that began three weeks ago, are struggling to cope with the flood of victims, Health Minister Daniel Bahr said.

Lindemann, speaking after three weeks of mysterious deaths and widespread consumer fears, said there appeared to be clear links between vegetables from the farm and food eaten by some victims.

The health scare has strained ties between two EU members and led Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to say "I not "poison" Russians by lifting an embargo on EU fruit and vegetable imports."

Lindemann said that beansprouts and some other sprouts from the farm might be connected to the outbreak. Raw sprouts are popular among Germans and often mixed in salads or added to sandwiches.

Lost sales have cost Spanish farmers 200 million euros a week, and Spanish officials might claim compensation. The crisis could put 70,000 people out of work in Spain, which already has the highest unemployment in the EU.

The farm was shut down Sunday and all its produce recalled, including fresh herbs, fruits, flowers and potatoes. Two of its employees were also infected with E. coli, Lindemann said. He said 18 different sprout mixtures from the farm were under suspicion.

Lindemann noted that the sprouts are grown with steam in barrels at 38 degrees Celsius - an ideal environment for bacteria to multiply.

Officials, however, are not sure if the farm is the only source. Lindemann said the contaminated produce might have found its way into a variety of foods.

German officials said the produce from the farm was delivered to restaurants and food operations in five northern states.

Hospitals in Hamburg have been moving out patients with less serious illnesses to handle the surge of people stricken by the rare strain of bacteria. Hospitals outside Hamburg could be used to make up for "insufficient capacity."

At a news conference with Bahr in Hamburg, state health minister Cornelia Pruefer-Storcks said local officials were facing a shortage of doctors.

"We want to discuss with doctors whether those who recently retired can be reactivated," she said, adding that medical staff in Hamburg were battling exhaustion. Doctors and nurses in northern Germany have been working overtime for weeks since the crisis began May 2.

On Saturday officials identified a restaurant in the northern port of Luebeck as a place where the bug might have been passed to humans, saying at least 17 people infected with E.coli had eaten there and one later died from complications.

adapted from The Chicago Tribune