Number of people hit by E coli outbreak in Europe soars

The death toll rose to 17,with German authorities reporting that an 84-year-old woman with the complication had died.

The number of people hit by a massive European outbreak of foodborne bacterial infections is one third higher than previously known and a stunningly high number of patients suffer from a potentially deadly complication than can shut down their kidneys,officials said Wednesday.

The death toll rose to 17,with German authorities reporting that an 84-year-old woman with the complication had died on Sunday.

Medical authorities appeared no closer to discovering either the source of the infection or the mystery at the heart of the outbreak: why the unusual strain of the E coli bacteria appears to be causing so many cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome,which attacks the kidneys and can cause seizures,strokes and comas.

Story continues below this ad

This particular strain were dealing with now seems to be unique, said Dr Hilde Kruse,programme manager for food safety at WHO Europe. Germanys national health agency said 1,534 people in the country had been infected by EHEC,a particularly deadly strain of the bacteria. The Robert Koch Institute had reported 1,169 a day earlier.

The outbreak has hit nine European countries but all of the sick people live in Germany or have travelled there recently. Robert Koch Institute said 470 people in Germany were suffering from hemolytic uremic syndrome,a number experts called unprecedented in modern history.