<p>This is very scary: 18 dead, hundreds hospitalized, and now 4 cases are confirmed in the US.</p>
<p>[4</a> in US now linked to German E. coli outbreak - Yahoo! News](<a href=“http://beta.news.yahoo.com/4-us-now-linked-german-e-coli-outbreak-204146483.html]4”>http://beta.news.yahoo.com/4-us-now-linked-german-e-coli-outbreak-204146483.html)</p>
<p>Please tell your students who are studying in/traveling to Europe to wash their hands often and seek medical attention immediately if they feel ill.</p>
<p>It looks like it’s primarily a problem in Germany.</p>
<p>[BBC</a> News - Signs that E. coli cases are stabilising, say doctors](<a href=“http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13652817]BBC”>Signs that E. coli cases are stabilising, say doctors - BBC News)</p>
<p>Because the incubation period is 8 days, many visitors could leave Germany and not become ill until back in the home country.</p>
<p>D has just returned from Germany. Thankfully they became aware of the outbreak almost immediately upon arrival and were able to avoid most of the “suspect” foods. Now it appears they are not sure of the source.</p>
<p>I’m watching this story carefully because my d is in Prague this summer, and planning to visit Germany next weekend. She tells us that her program director is good about keeping the students informed about the latest developments. Hoping the source is discovered soon!</p>
<p>D1 just returned from Poland, Prague, and Geneva. She says that the outbreak is headlining the news in Europe, esp in Poland, and people are aware of the problem. No one is eating fresh veggies like salads anywhere, even places where there hasn’t been a problem.</p>
<p>Just read here ( [EarthLink</a> - Top News](<a href=“http://my.earthlink.net/article/top?guid=20110605/432f00f9-4366-4547-aa07-ed9fad23cb4a]EarthLink”>http://my.earthlink.net/article/top?guid=20110605/432f00f9-4366-4547-aa07-ed9fad23cb4a) ) that vegetable sprouts from an organic farm in Germany are suspected of being the culprit in the E. coli outbreak. I hope there’s a definitive answer in the next day so that people can go back to eating salads! Also hope that the thousands of very sick victims will recover soon.</p>
<p>Weren’t spouts the cause of an outbreak a few years ago? I found this interesting article on the sprout problem:</p>
<p>[It’s</a> Your Health - Risks Associated with Sprouts [Health Canada, 2007]](<a href=“http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/food-aliment/sprouts-germes-eng.php]It’s”>http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/food-aliment/sprouts-germes-eng.php)</p>
<p>I’ve been quite concerned about this, given that my son is going to be in Berlin and a couple of other places in Germany for more than a month, from late July until early September. I know that people are being advised not to eat cucumbers, lettuce, or tomatoes, so it seems to me that not eating salad at all would be an excellent idea for him. Not an issue that people generally expect to encounter when they visit a “First World” country, but there’s nothing to be done about it other than being careful.</p>
<p>It looks like they’ve narrowed it down to sprouts grown on a particular organic farm in Germany. I recall problems years ago with alfalfa sprouts grown in the US. The process for growing them - a steam bath of sorts - is also conducive to bacteria growth. This is why few restaurants in the US use raw sprouts on salads anymore.</p>
<p>I do buy them occasionally at Whole Foods, but always with that nagging voice in my head because they are rather risky. I’ll probably stop now until a new growth method is developed.</p>