GERMANY declares end to E. coli outbreak

26.jul.11
Reuters/AFP

Germany's federal disease control institute declared on Tuesday that an E. coli outbreak which killed more than 50 people is now over and no cases have been reported in the past three weeks.
More than 4,400 people in Europe and North America were infected in two outbreaks of E. coli infection -- A large one centered in northern Germany and a smaller cluster focused around the French city of Bordeaux.
The outbreaks prompted Russia to ban imports of fresh fruit and vegetables from the European Union, and also caused western European consumers to shy away from fresh produce.
"The biggest E. coli outbreak in Germany is now over," said Reinhard Burger, president of the Robert Koch Institute, Germany's national disease control agency.
The European Food Safety Agency this month slapped a temporary ban on all seeds and beans from Egypt after it blamed a batch of contaminated fenugreek seeds imported to Germany and then distributed elsewhere for the infections.
The seeds were later used to grow salad sprouts, which most victims had eaten before falling ill.