The Hungarian Presidency of the European Union convened an extraordinary Agriculture Council in Luxembourg on June 7 to assess the implications of the outbreak of a particularly virulent strain of Escherichia coli bacteria that has been responsible for a number of deaths, mainly in Germany.

According to the Council for Europe, a session of EU health ministers discussed the latest health developments of the E. coli outbreak on June 6. The next day, agriculture ministers from the 27 member states, together with Commissioner Dalli (Health and Consumer Policy) and Commissioner Cioloş (Agriculture and Rural Development), are debating  its food safety and market implications.

Intensive investigations along the food chain are being conducted to pinpoint the exact source of contamination that has led to the deaths of several people and the hospitalisation of many others. According to Robert Koch Institute in Germany, cases of Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome (HUS) caused by E. Coli in the country have risen to 630 since Friday, with 16 reported deaths.

A further 1,601 people are reported to be suffering from bloody diarrhoea (VTEC or EHEC infection, caused by E. coli O104) with six deaths – bringing the total number of official reported deaths in Germany to 22.

At the moment, the outbreak – one of the largest recorded worldwide – is mainly affecting people in northern Germany and people who have visited the region since the beginning of May.

The symptoms of the infection, which can take a week to develop, include stomach pain and bloody diarrhoea. In the most serious cases it can lead to kidney failure and even death.

The strains in question are Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), which can be transmitted by contaminated food or water or by contact with farm animals. Transmission between people is also possible, which is why personal hygiene remains important.

As Spanish cucumbers were initially – wrongly – mentioned in some media as a possible source of contamination, says the Council for Europe, consumption of cucumbers and other fresh vegetables has plummeted around Europe. Some non-EU countries have even banned the import of EU vegetables. In addition to food safety matters, the agriculture ministers will discuss how best to compensate for the huge losses suffered by producers. Possible compensation was discussed during the informal meeting of agriculture ministers in Debrecen last week.

After the first cases were reported on May 22, the Commission activated all existing EU-wide networks to share information and to coordinate a response, including the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed and the Early Warning and Response System for communicable diseases.

A team of seven EU experts on food-borne diseases arrived in Germany on June 5 and these experts are working in liaison with the German authorities to establish the exact cause of the outbreak.