Cattle are the main reservoir for E. coli, the family of bowel-dwelling bacteria from which the new bug comes, said Rowland Cobbold, a veterinary public health researcher at the University of Queensland in Australia.Outbreaks of bloody diarrhea caused by E. coli have usually been linked to contaminated meat, Cobbold said.
Manure from cattle infected with the microbe can spread in the air and water, potentially contaminating vegetable fields, said James Paton, head of the bacterial pathogenesis laboratory at the University of Adelaide in Australia.
“If you’re trying to grow hydroponic lettuces half a kilometer down the road from a cattle feedlot, even if you don’t have any cattle on your property, there’s the potential for manure dust to blow down on your farm,” Paton said. “It’s easy.
Scientists believe the E. coli somehow ended up contaminating lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers, and are advising people in northern Germany to avoid these foods.
Tauxe said the toxin can damage the intestine, causing diarrhea, or it can spread into the bloodstream, damaging the kidneys or even the brain
From:http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-03/e-coli-sleuths-may-be-led-to-smoking-cow-in-germ-source-hunt.html
Manure from cattle infected with the microbe can spread in the air and water, potentially contaminating vegetable fields, said James Paton, head of the bacterial pathogenesis laboratory at the University of Adelaide in Australia.
“If you’re trying to grow hydroponic lettuces half a kilometer down the road from a cattle feedlot, even if you don’t have any cattle on your property, there’s the potential for manure dust to blow down on your farm,” Paton said. “It’s easy.
Scientists believe the E. coli somehow ended up contaminating lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers, and are advising people in northern Germany to avoid these foods.
Tauxe said the toxin can damage the intestine, causing diarrhea, or it can spread into the bloodstream, damaging the kidneys or even the brain
From:http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-03/e-coli-sleuths-may-be-led-to-smoking-cow-in-germ-source-hunt.html
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