Europe's lethal E.coli strain may be deadliest yet

More than 1,600 people have been infected by a toxic strain of E.coli bacteria that has killed at least 17 and may be the deadliest yet in human history, health officials said.E.Coli spread among people through human contact, World Health Organization said today.

Germany is at the center of the outbreak. But with the exact source of the illness still a mystery, consumers appear to be increasingly nervous around the world.

Some 1,624 people in Europe and the United States have so far become ill, probably from eating contaminated vegetables and salads. The WHO said the strain was a rare one, seen in humans before, but never in this kind of outbreak.

The death toll is expected to rise further when Germany updates numbers later in the day after a public holiday yesterday. Experts say the source is likely to be in Germany.

People have also become ill in Austria, Denmark, France, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, Britain and United States.

"All these cases except two are in people who reside in or had recently visited northern Germany during the incubation period for the infection – typically 3 to 4 days post-exposure – or in one case, had contact with a visitor from northern Germany," the WHO said in a statement.

E. coli bacteria themselves are harmless. But the strain that is making people sick in Europe has the ability to stick to intestinal walls where it pumps out toxins, sometimes causing severe bloody diarrhea and other complications.

Robert Tauxe of the US. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has been working with German health officials since last week, said the strain was likely the most deadly yet in terms of the number of deaths recorded.

"I believe it is," he told when asked about that possibility. He said it was unclear how the bacteria became so resistant.

The outbreak has put strains on trade relations, with Russia drawing EU criticism after banning raw vegetable imports from Europe and accusing Brussels of failing to handle the crisis. Russia's ban has prompted cries of protest from European governments and a rebuke from the European Commission which urged Russia to end its ban immediately.

EU countries exported 594 million euros ($853 million) worth of vegetables to Russia last year while EU imports of vegetables from Russia were just 29 million euros, EU data show.