WHO: E. coli Death Toll Rises To 35

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WHO: E. coli Death Toll Rises To 35

4 More Die In Germany

By the CNN Wire Staff

Posted: 1:11 pm PDT June 12, 2011

Updated: 2:40 pm PDT June 12, 2011

(CNN) -- Four more people have died in Germany, health officials said Sunday,

bringing the total number of deaths from an E. coli outbreak to 35.

All but one of the deaths were in Germany, with the other occurring in Sweden,

according to the World Health Organization and the European Center for Disease

Prevention and Control.

The number of people infected with E. coli as of Sunday was 3,256, according to

the European center (ECDC). Of those, 812 have the severe form of the intestinal

illness.

All but five people had traveled to or lived in Germany during the incubation

period for infection, typically three to four days after exposure, the WHO said.

German authorities have indicated that food items including bean sprouts and

other vegetables originating from a producer in Lower Saxony, Germany, are the

most likely source of the infection. German health authorities have declared

that all food products originating from the producer be pulled from the market,

according to the ECDC.

The agricultural ministry in Lower Saxony said Sunday that it is still not clear

how sprouts from a farm in the state became contaminated with the bacteria.

" It is not clear whether an employee brought the bacteria into the company or

whether it was brought in with seeds which then contaminated the worker, " the

ministry said in a statement.

" Finding this out is important, however, so that we can create early warning

systems to prevent such outbreaks in the future, " the statement said.

Investigators found bean sprouts were the cause of the outbreak when 17 people

became ill after eating at the same restaurant, said Reinhard Burger, president

of the Koch Institute, which is responsible for disease control and

prevention in Germany. Only those who ate food containing the sprouts became

ill, he said.

Farmers in Spain, France, the Netherlands and Belgium have been seeking

compensation for their losses. The European Commission has proposed that the

European Union pay about $300 million, but Spain alone claims about $600 million

in losses.

In Spain, the produce exporter Frunet filed suit last week over the Hamburg

state government's initial claims that Spanish produce was to blame for the

outbreak. The company, based in Spain's southern Malaga province, expects to

file another suit against the government seeking 1 million euros, or $144

million, in losses from fresh produce it had to destroy, Frunet owner

Lavao told CNN. Health officials first blamed Frunet's organic cucumbers for the

outbreak.

CNN's Al Goodman and Frederik Pleitgen contributed to this report.Copyright CNN

2011