Worst of E coli is over, says minister

GERMANY'S health minister says he is hopeful that the worst of an E coli outbreak blamed on sprouts is over - but he is warning that the number of deaths, now at 33, may increase.

Daniel Bahr's comments came after health officials announced on Friday that they had traced the outbreak to sprouts from a farm in northern Germany. They also lifted a warning against eating cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce, which initially had been suspected as possible culprits.

The E coli outbreak, the world's deadliest, has sickened nearly 3,100 people - most of them in Germany - and prompted many in Europe to shun vegetables over recent weeks.

"The (E coli] wave is gradually abating - there is reason to hope the worst is now over," Bahr said yesterday. He added that a major flare-up is "very unlikely".

However, "further deaths are not ruled out, as painful as that is," he added.

In Hamburg, one of the areas worst hit by the outbreak, customers at the city's Wandsbek market were back to buying cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce yesterday.

With the end of the warning, "now they are coming back to the markets," said farmer Wolfgang Sannmann, who was selling vegetables and fruit.

Health officials say they tracked the bacteria's path from hospital patients to restaurants where they had dined, to specific meals and ingredients they ate, and finally back to a single farm.