Sprouts Are Cause of E. Coli Outbreak, Germany Says

Ryan McVay/Digital Vision/Thinkstock(BERLIN) -- German health officials announced Friday that bean sprouts, as previously believed, are most likely to blame for the deadly E. coli outbreak that has affected the country.

"It's the sprouts," said Reinhard Burger, head of the Robert Koch Institute, Germany's center for disease control.

Speaking at a press conference, Burger added that "people who ate sprouts were nine times more likely to have bloody diarrhea than those who did not."

Over two dozen people have died from the outbreak and thousands more have fallen ill.  People from 12 countries have been infected and it's believed all had passed through northern Germany, where officials had issued a warning not to consume sprouts of any kind.

That warning still stands, according to Burger, who warned that the outbreak was not over.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Sprouts Not the Source of European E. Coli Outbreak?

Comstock/Thinkstock(BERLIN) -- The E. coli outbreak in Europe that is believed to have killed 22 people and left 2,000 others sick may not have been caused by bean sprouts grown in Germany, despite officials' most recent theory.

Over the weekend, German agriculture minister Gert Lindermann said that a company that grew the sprouts locally in a northern region had been shuttered until further notice. Lindermann said at a news conference, "There was a very clear trail [to this company] as the source of the infection...It is the most convincing...source for the E. coli illnesses."

But initial tests on those sprouts showed no evidence of E. coli, officials said Monday.

People from 12 countries have been infected and it is believed all had passed through northern Germany, where officials had issued a warning not to consume sprouts of any kind. Four Americans, all whom had been to Germany, have also been sickened.

Officials will now likely refocus their investigation on cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce -- the produce that was in question at the start of the outbreak.

This strain of E. coli is different because the incubation period is longer, meaning symptoms can take up to two weeks to show up. In its most virulent form, the disease can cause fatal kidney failure.  Typically, those sickened experience diarrhea and dehydration.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Europe's E. Coli Outbreak Traced to Bean Sprouts

Ryan McVay/Digital Vision/Thinkstock(BERLIN) -- The E. coli outbreak in Europe that is believed to have killed 22 people and left 2,000 others sick may have had its origins in bean sprouts grown in Germany.

That was the word Sunday from German agriculture minister Gert Lindermann, who said that a company that grew the sprouts locally in a northern region has been shuttered until further notice.

Lindermann said at a news conference, "There was a very clear trail [to this company] as the source of the infection...It is the most convincing...source for the E. coli illnesses."

People from 12 countries have been infected and it's believed all had passed through northern Germany, where officials have issued a warning not to consume sprouts of any kind.  Four Americans, all whom had been to Germany, have also been sickened.

This strain of E. coli is different because the incubation period is longer, meaning symptoms can take up to two weeks to show up.

In its most virulent form, the disease can cause fatal kidney failure.  Typically, those sickened experience diarrhea and dehydration.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio