Russia Bans European Food Imports as Virulent E. Coli Strain Spreads

BERLIN — An unusually lethal strain of E. coli bacteria has infected more than 1,500 people in Germany, mystifying public health officials, ravaging Spain’s agricultural heartland, and touching off panic in Europe as people weighed whether it was safe to eat raw vegetables. In the latest indication the extent of the concerns, Russia, which had already banned fresh vegetable imports from Spain and Germany, extended the prohibition to all of the European Union on Thursday, news reports said.

The source of the outbreak, which has killed at least 16 people — 15 in Germany and a Swede who visited there recently — remained unknown.
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Scientists are at a loss to explain why this little-known organism, identified as E. coli 0104:H4, has proved so virulent.
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