Britain Confirms New Cases Of Killer Bug

New cases of deadly E.coli have been reported in Britain, the Health Protection Agency has said.

All the four new cases are related to recent travel to Germany, bringing the total number in Britain to 11.

A global team of researchers is continuing to work to establish the mysterious source of the infection, which has struck more than 1,700 people in 12 countries and killed 18.

Cucumbers from Spain were initially thought to have been carrying the bacteria, and officials across Europe rushed to warn people off eating them, along with tomatoes and lettuce.

And Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin defended his country's ban on EU vegetables in the wake of the infection, saying he would not allow Russians to "get poisoned".

But Italian scientists from the EU's Reference Laboratory for E. coli in Rome have now revealed there is no proof that vegetables were the source of the outbreak, and tests had failed to support that theory.

"Alarmism over the consumption of vegetables is not justified... since laboratory analyses do not support the hypothesis that contaminated vegetables were the source of the infection," the laboratory said in a statement.

The lab added that basic food hygiene, such as washing hands after handling food and ensuring knives are clean, would be sufficient to avoid infection.

Scientists say it may take months to fully understand the characteristics of the bacteria - but fear this E.coli strain is the most toxic yet to hit a human population.

Tests so far have revealed it is part of a class of bacteria that has the ability to stick to intestinal walls, where it pumps out toxins, causing diarrhoea and vomiting.

The strain is part of a class of bacteria known as Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia E.coli, or STEC.

Dr Robert Tauxe, an expert at the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention , said the "glue" part of the strain was typically only found in children in the developing world.

"The glue that this bug is using is not the same glue that is E.coli 0157 or most other STEC bacteria," he said.

"It's this combination from the glue from another kind of E. coli and the shiga toxin that makes this an unusual strain."

Mr Putin dismissed EU officials' claims that Russia's ban was against the spirit of its bid to join the World Trade Organisation.

"I do not know what spirit this contradicts," he said.

"Cucumbers that make people die really smell bad. People really are dying because of eating these products and we cannot let our people get poisoned for the sake of some kind of spirit."

In severe cases, the strain causes hemolytic uremic syndrome attacking the kidneys and causing coma, seizure and stroke.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said it was conducting "numerous investigations" into Europe's worst recorded food-poisoning outbreak.

"While epidemiological and laboratory investigations continue, the source of the outbreak still remains unknown," a statement said.

Analysis shows the bacterium is an enterohemorrhagic E.coli O104 strain, but is a "new serotype - not previously involved in any E.coli outbreaks".

WHO food safety expert Hilde Kruse said the killer strain was "unique" and "has never been isolated from patients before", adding it had "various characteristics that make it more virulent and toxin-producing".

Chinese and German researchers from the Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI) said the strain contained several genes that were resistant to antibiotics.

Meanwhile, free cucumbers were given out in Torremolinos, southern Spain, in support of Spanish farmers.

Douglas Noble, a lecturer in the centre for primary care and public health at Queen Mary University of London, said: "This is obviously a very serious outbreak of a rare strain of E.coli with the exact source of contamination remaining undetermined.

"The UK has in recent years been very strong in its response to such threats to human health, and this episode particularly highlights the need for a joined-up public health response across Europe."