Enteroaggregative, Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O104:H4 outbreak: new microbiological findings boost coordinated investigations by European public health laboratories

摘要

The search for the source and vehicle of the outbreak has been a long and arduous process. Initial epidemio- logical findings pointed to raw vegetables and salads consumed in northern Germany as likely vehicles of infection and consequently led to the recommendation to abstain from eating these vegetables raw in north- ern Germany [1]. Extensive investigations implicated an organic sprout farm in Lower Saxony near Hamburg.