This Associated Press report has been picked up by many news outlets. Here it is via Forbes.com: Severity of Europe E. coli outbreak stuns experts. Excerpt:
In its most severe form, the infection can attack the kidneys, sometimes causing seizures, strokes and comas.
It's "extraordinary" to see so many cases of the kidney complication from a foodborne illness, said Dr. Robert Tauxe, a foodborne disease expert at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"There has not been such an outbreak before that we know of in the history of public health," Tauxe said. He added that the strain of E. coli in the European outbreak has not been seen in the United States, where there have been several high-profile foodborne outbreaks in recent years, but none with such a high death toll.
There's little precedent in Europe, either. In 1996, an E. coli outbreak in the United Kingdom caused 216 cases and 11 deaths. The World Health Organization said 86 percent of those sickened were adults, and two-thirds were women. It said it was unusual that more children weren't affected.
