Health officials concerned super-bug outbreak in UK may spread

June 2, 2011 – LONDON – As seven cases of the food poisoning bacteria were diagnosed in Britain, the agency said that the mutant strain was so virulent that sufferers risked spreading the infection to friends and relations through close contact. With more than 30,000 people travelling between Britain and Germany every day, officials fear the outbreak could take hold here. The agency said anyone who had recently travelled to Germany should be vigilant about their personal hygiene to minimize the risk of passing on the bacteria, which can attack the kidneys with potentially fatal consequences. The outbreak is on course to be the world’s “biggest ever”, according to one of the country’s leading microbiologists. The agency added that it was shocked by its “unprecedented” scale and severity. More than 1,600 people have been infected worldwide, mainly in northern Germany. Hundreds have been left seriously ill and at least 18 have died. It emerged last night that the food bug has struck two Americans who had recently travelled to Hamburg. Both are expected to survive but experts warned that the bacteria could be exported to the US. The World Health Organization identified the bacterium as a “completely new” mutant strain which was more toxic and infectious than usual varieties. It is resistant to antibiotics and has an eight-day incubation period, which means that the outbreak may not have reached a peak. It can cause the deadly complication haemolytic-uraemic syndrome (HUS) which affects the blood and kidneys. Experts are still unable to say where the outbreak originated, having ruled out the initial theory that it came from a consignment of Spanish cucumbers. Fears have heightened to such an extent that Russia yesterday banned the import of all raw vegetables from Europe. The HPA said the seven cases diagnosed in Britain involved people who had recently travelled to Germany. Three are seriously ill with the HUS complication. Dr. Bob Adak, an expert in gastrointestinal infections at the agency, said his organization had interviewed the families of those involved and advised them to take precautions to avoid a secondary spread of the bacteria. “We’re extremely concerned by it,” he said. “We are on the lookout for secondary infections, because it is quite infectious you don’t need many bacteria on your hand to spread it. “People have got to be very careful, in the first instance those who are most at risk are other family members. –UK Telegraph