WHO: Deadly E. coli is New Strain of Bacteria, Source Still Unknown

WHO: Deadly E. coli is New Strain ofBacteria, Source Still Unknown Outbreak More Severe thanEver Seen Before, Experts SayThe lethal E. coli bacteria that has left18 dead and more than 1,500 sick inEurope is a new strain that expertshave never seen before, the WorldHealth Organization announcedThursday.Early investigations suggest that the strain is an altered type of twoE. coli bacteria with deadly genes that, experts said, could explainthe widespread and dangerous nature of the illness."This is a unique strain that has never been isolated from patientsbefore," Hilde Kruse, a food safety expert at the WHO, told TheAssociated Press. "[It has] various characteristics that make itmore virulent and toxin-producing."The source of the bacteria remains unknown, continuing to baffleexperts.The strain has hit eight countries in Europe, but has beenconcentrated in Germany.Two cases have surfaced in U.S. hospitals, said Lola Russell, aspokeswoman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Russell did not disclose the names or locations of those who hadfallen ill, but she did say their illnesses were associated with recenttravel to Germany. Both are expected to survive.Moreover, a local Texas health department confirmed Wednesdaythat seven cases of E. coli appeared in the Amarillo area thisweek, but Russell said those cases were not associated with theEuropean outbreak.Donna Makkhavane, a spokeswoman for the city of Amarillo, saidthat all seven cases were found in children, and "most were under5 years old."Makkhavane could not confirm the source of the E. coli outbreak inthe children, but local experts are investigating food sources,international travel and exposure to animals.Most E. coli strains are harmless, but those that do cause sicknessusually trigger bouts of bloody diarrhea, fever and abdominalcramps. In the bacteria's most serious and severe form, theinfection causes hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS, a conditionthat attacks the kidneys and can cause stroke, seizure, coma anddeath. In a typical outbreak, only about 1 to 2 percent of thoseaffected experience HUS."Initial information suggests [the strain] is more virulent or"meaner" than those previously seen," said Dr. Christopher Ohl,associate professor of medicine in the infectious disease divisionat Wake Forest University School of Medicine. "Although we don'tknow how many total infections there are, it seems that it is morelikely to result in HUS."Despite a massive medical dragnet, the culprit for the outbreak hasnot yet been determined. Tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuceconsumed in the region are being tested for the E. coli bacteria.Because the source of the outbreak is still unknown, it is possiblethat tainted products could be unknowingly transported into theU.S., warned Dr. William Schaffner, chairman of the department ofpreventive medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine."Bacteria do not need a passport," said Schaffner. "There alreadyhave been a couple of cases in the U.S. The patients had traveledto Hamburg, returned to the U.S. where they became ill. This couldhappen again and the E. coli could be transmitted to family, friendsand others in the U.S."And doctors said recent proposed budget cuts to the Food andDrug Administration's food surveillance program may makeoutbreaks in the U.S. even more likely in the future."I worry that the FDA is not properly resourced to be able topolice imported food," said ABC News' senior health and medicaleditor Dr. Richard Besser. "This is so important for preventing theintroduction of products that could be harmful."E. coli Outbreak Resistant to AntibioticsBut Schaffner said that it is not likely that this outbreak will spreadto the U.S., because there is not a lot of fresh produce that isimported into the U.S. food supply from Europe.Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for InfectiousDisease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, saidthat it will be important to decipher whether there is somethingunusual about this particular agent that is causing a higherpercentage of people to experience HUS, or whether the outbreakis just extremely widespread.Germany first targeted cucumbers imported from Spain as thesource of the outbreak. After experts tested the vegetables, andthey came up negative for carrying the bacteria, Spain threatenedto sue Germany over the cucumber charge.But Osterholm said Spain may not be in the clear."Spain has no basis to say the cucumbers weren't involved becausethis is such a difficult organism to find," said Osterholm. "Rightnow, there is a lot of misinformation out there because, even if afood item is tested, there can be such a low level of contaminationthat nothing ever comes up in testing."Osterholm continued to say that experts need to lookepidemiologically to compare what the E. coli victims ate versusthe healthy population."Once you identify products, you do the trace and it almostuniversally comes back to one source," said Osterholm.Kimball noted that strain "seems to be affecting a different agegroup."Usually, young children and elderly people are most at risk ofsevere E. coli symptoms, but women of various ages seem to behit hardest by the outbreak."If you look at the primary group that eats salads in the U.S. andaround the world, it's young to older women," he said. "The profileof the outbreak hit perfectly. It wasn't a surprise to see thatvegetables were implicated."WHO: Deadly E. coli is New Strain ofBacteria, Source Still Unknown