Europe Lifts 'Killer Cucumber' E.Coli Warning

The European Commission has lifted its warning over Spanish cucumbers suspected of causing an E.coli outbreak that has killed at least 17 people

A statement said tests carried out on cucumbers in Germany and in Spain "did not confirm the presence of the specific serotype (O104), which is responsible for the outbreak affecting humans."

Spain's health ministry confirmed it had been informed of the decision.

It also reiterated it was considering legal action against authorities in the northern German city of Hamburg that blamed Spanish cucumbers for the E.coli.

German health officials earlier reported 365 new cases - 100 of which are serious - of the E.coli outbreak as it continues to spread across Europe.

The deadly bacteria - linked to contaminated vegetables - has killed 17 people and made more than 1,500 ill in Germany, Sweden and other countries since it surfaced in mid-May.

And health experts say more people are expected to inundate hospitals with the bug in the coming days.

The threat of legal action against Hamburg comes after Spanish farmers, who have been forced to throw away their produce, said they were losing around £175m (200m euros) per week in sales.

Spain Agriculture minister Rosa Aguilar, who on Monday ate Spanish-grown cucumbers to prove they were safe, said Madrid would be asking "for extraordinary measures to compensate for the huge losses imposed on the Spanish sector."

German officials admitted on Tuesday that latest tests showed the cucumbers did not carry the dangerous bacteria strain.

The exact source of the virulent strain of E.coli is still not known.

In the meantime, the German government has warned consumers to avoid all cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce .

Dr Robert Tauxe, a foodbourne disease expert at the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, said the outbreak was like nothing he had seen before.

"There has not been such an outbreak before that we know of in the history of public health," he said.

"It's extraordinary to see so many cases of the kidney complication from a foodbourne illness."

In comparison, he brought up the E.coli outbreak in the United Kingdom in 1996 which saw 216 cases and 11 deaths reported.

E.coli is found in the digestive systems of humans, cows and other mammals. It has been responsible for a large number of food poisoning outbreaks around the world.

In most cases, it simply causes diarrhea and other non-lethal stomach ailments.

But the bacteria involved in the latest outbreak, EHEC, causes more severe symptoms, ranging from bloody diarrhea to hemolytic uremic syndrome - the rare kidney condition that the most seriously ill patients are suffering from.

The syndrome normally kills roughly 5% of the patients who get it.