The bacterium Escherichia coli has caused 17 deaths in Germany and Sweden. The German authorities have officially informed the EC late Wednesday that have completed all tests on the samples collected. Spain does not rule out legal action against the authorities of Hamburg, which attributed to the Spanish cucumbers infection. The European Commission announced on Wednesday the withdrawal of notification of alert on Spanish cucumbers, while efforts continue to identify the source of the outbreak of the bacteria E.coli in Germany and Sweden. The latest results of tests on samples of cucumbers made by the authorities of Germany and Spain show that Spanish garden is not responsible for the outbreak, said the EC in a statement. The German authorities have officially informed the EC late Wednesday that have completed all tests on the samples collected, it added the note. While some cucumbers were tested positive for the presence of the bacterium, the analysis did not confirm the presence of the specific serotype (0104), which is responsible for the outbreak that affects people, added the Committee.
Similar analyses carried out by the Spanish authorities in samples of cucumbers have also yielded negative results. After receiving these results, the European Commission has withdrawn the alert notification on the Spanish rapid alert from the food chain system of cucumbers, added the statement. Research is ongoing to identify the possible source of the contamination of the outbreak, which has caused 16 deaths in Germany and one in Sweden according to national authorities. The European Commissioner for health and Consumer Affairs, John Dalli, morning urged the German authorities to step up efforts to detect the source of the problem as soon as possible, and stressed that the EC is prepared to assist as much as possible. Before the release of the EC, the Spanish Ministry of Health announced the end of the alert to Almeria from cucumbers, While the veto was still in the Malaga waiting for analyses whose results will be announced this Thursday. Important step health has appreciated the decision of the European Commission to lift the alert on the grounds that it is a very important step to restore normalcy to the Spanish fruit and vegetable sector, but has stressed that the Spanish Government does not rule out legal action against the authorities of Hamburg, which attributed to the Spanish cucumbers infection by the bacterium Escherichia coli. Source of the news: the EC announces the withdrawal of the alert about Spain from cucumbers