Disease experts in Canada are watching the latest developments in Europe’s ongoing E. coli outbreak.
The outbreak has killed 36 people and infected thousands of others.
Andrew Potter, director and chief executive officer of the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) and InterVac in Saskatoon, said many unanswered questions surround the European outbreak.
“If it (the E. coli strain) was on sprouts in Germany, how did it get there? With E. coli, you don’t usually find it just kicking around on food. You usually find it in animals and I suspect that it (the European case) is not a lot different than the outbreak that they had in spinach in the U. S … where you have a contamination of a crop either due to contaminated water or manure being used as fertilizer.”
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Potter said the European case should serve as a wake-up call to disease experts.
Surveillance and monitoring should be stepped up and co-ordinated so that experts better understand the deadly pathogens that could affect human health in different regions.
“This was a big outbreak. It’s got to be one of the world’s largest,” he said.
“It highlights the need for ongoing surveillance so we know what’s out there before it comes and kicks us, like this one did.”
The strain of E. coli responsible for the deaths is unlike any strain previously known in Europe or North America.
