Outbreak in Europe blamed on 'super-toxic' strain

Yahoooooo! ^ | 06-02-2011 | By MARIA CHENG and KIRSTEN GRIESHABER,

[Red Badger]

LONDON – Scientists on Thursday blamed Europe's worst recorded food-poisoning outbreak on a "super-toxic" strain of E. coli bacteria that may be brand new.

But while suspicion has fallen on raw tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce as the source of the germs, researchers have been unable to pinpoint the food responsible for the frightening illness, which has killed at least 18 people, sickened more than 1,600 and spread to least 10 European countries.

An alarmingly large number of victims — about 500 — have developed kidney complications that can be deadly.

Chinese and German scientists analyzed the DNA of the E. coli bacteria and determined that the outbreak was caused by "an entirely new, super-toxic" strain that contains several antibiotic-resistant genes, according to a statement from the Shenzhen, China-based laboratory BGI. It said the strain appeared to be a combination of two types of E. coli.

"This is a unique strain that has never been isolated from patients before," Hilde Kruse, a food safety expert at the World Health Organization, told The Associated Press. The new strain has "various characteristics that make it more virulent and toxin-producing" than the many E. coli strains people naturally carry in their intestines.

However, Dr. Robert Tauxe, a foodborne-disease expert at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, questioned whether the strain is truly new, saying it had previously caused a single case in Korea in the 1990s. He said the genetic fingerprints from the two samples may vary a little, but not enough to say that the strain in Europe is new.

"Though it appears to have been around awhile, it hasn't called attention to itself as a major public health problem before," Tauxe said.

[Red Badger]

Sounds like a plot to a movie.................

[bgill]

All these germs and viruses are mutating into bigger and badder monsters. Silly humans for thinking it would be the cockroach that inherits the world.

[Lion Den Dan]

Sounds like a lack of hygene and sanitation. I wonder if any specific ethnic group is affected?

[Red Badger]

The reptiles had their turn.
The mammals had their turn.
Now I guess it’s the insects’ turn...................

[Bean Counter]

Could this be an old Soviet weaponized strain by chance?? We know how sloppy they were/still are about nuclear materials security; could someone have tried to smuggle a bio-weapon that leaked??

[Red Badger]

Christians. Muslims are immune............./s

[silverleaf]

sounds like a plot, alright

mass food poisoning has been reported as a plan discussed by terrorists, and some attempts have been thwarted

plenty of “good muslims” work in labs and have access to technology and know-how to alter a common bacteria

[Red Badger]

...it had previously caused a single case in Korea in the 1990s. ...

Perhaps a NORK bio-weapon that got loose..............

[silverleaf]

“Chinese” and German scientists doing the analysis

interesting

[NWFLConservative]

Bugs undergo genetic mutations all the time. Sometimes it is the result of random DNA transcription errors during replication or in response to antibiotics. Often times the errors result in bugs that are no longer viable and die, and sometimes it results in bugs which become more virulent or resistant to treatment. Bugs can develop resistance to antibiotics if they are over prescribed, which is an all too common occurrence, and produce what are called "plasmids" which are DNA fragments inside their cells which contain the coding for ways to defeat the actions of some drugs. E. coli is notorious for this, and some strains have been found to contain as many as a dozen different plasmids. It used to be that penicillin (a ß lactam drug) was effective against them. But they eventually mutated to the point where they have plasmids which produce a ß lactamase which breaks down the drug.

In my lab we do C&S (Culture and Sensitivity) on every sample coming in. The "Sensitivity" part entails planting the bug on a large plate and placing various antibiotic saturated disks on the plate. We let it incubate overnight and look at the plate the next day. If the bug grows right up to the disk, it is resistant. If there is a clear "zone of inhibition" around the disk, you can determine the extent of the bug's sensitivity based on the size of the zone. It is not unusual at all to see bugs with resistance to all but one disk. The war between drugs and bacteria is a constant game of "one-up-manship". For very simple one celled organisms, they can be pretty damn sneaky! ☺

[winodog]

I caught that as well. Very interesting!

[NWFLConservative]

Please see my post #10 before making claims like that.

Bacteria and viruses mutate all the time. E. coli O157:H7, the most virulent strain to come to light before this, and one which has caused many deaths due to HUS (Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome) was the result of such a mutation.

[Fawn]

I loved those 28 days, weeks movies....

[silverleaf]

It is no “claim” that terrorist plots have discussed mass food poisoning

While mutation is a fact, sudden outbreak of a such a deadly mutation in a cluster, in a nation which practices very high standards of food hygiene, the source of which which seems untraceable after days or weeks of study by top world experts, does test the assumption of “coincidence”

Discussing a possibility is not “making claims”

Time may tell if the mutation is natural or if it was engineered by artificial intervention- then we go on

However, there are some things the sheeple are never quite privileged to be told the truth about

[Red Badger]

This is eerily similar................

[Taffini]

BUMP

Interesting information. Thanks.

[Taffini]

they maybe working on a method to thin out the herd

[1_Rain_Drop]

Interesting timing for this outbreak.

When obama returned from mexico, a swine flu epidemic broke out.
he returns from Europe and virus pops up.

Were the vegetables from moochelle's garden?

[1_Rain_Drop]

Interesting timing for this outbreak.

When obama returned from mexico, a swine flu epidemic broke out.
he returns from Europe and virus pops up.

Were the vegetables from moochelle's garden?

[NWFLConservative]

Read up on epidemiology and endemic infections.

And then read up on "typhoid Mary".