World: Rare German strain of E.coli “more virulent and toxin-producing”
- This is a unique strain that has never been isolated from patients before … [it has] various characteristics that make it more virulent and toxin-producing.
- World Health Organization food safety expert Hilde Kruse • Describing what makes the mutant strain of E.coli — the one found mostly in Germany at this point — much more dangerous than previous versions. The disease, which sickened more than 1,500 and left nearly 500 with a rare type of kidney failure, is the third-largest outbreak of E.coli ever. So, where did it come from? “One should think of an animal source,” Kruse suggested. “Many animals are hosts of various types of toxin-producing E. coli.” source