Epidemic of gastroenteritis and hemolytic and uremic syndrome of 2011 in Europe-Wikipedia

L’ Epidemic of gastroenteritis and hemolytic and uremic syndrome of 2011 in Europe (wrongly called “Cucumber crisis” Because of the suspicion brought to the start on lots of cucumber from southern Spain ^{[ first ]} ), is an epidemic due to bacteria Escherichia coli O104: H4 YOU TYPE Escherichia coli Enterohemorrhage (ECEH) that started in Germany in mid-May 2011 ^{[ 2 ]} . Caused by sprouted seeds from organic farming ^{[ 3 ]} , she made 53 ^{[ 4 ]} dead and it is the most important epidemic of this type that is known. She led to a food and economic crisis in the Spanish agricultural sector ^{[ 5 ] , [ 6 ]} , then in all European countries, especially since Russia’s embargo on all vegetables from the European Union came to be added to consumers’ mistrust ^{[ 7 ] , [ 8 ]} .

The epidemic has spread to other European countries, such as Sweden, Denmark, the United Kingdom, France, Austria and the Netherlands ^{[Insufficient source]} .

In France, the previous epidemic of this type occurred in 2005 ^{[ 9 ]} . According to a specialist from the Pasteur Institute: “It is the biggest epidemic of hemolytic and uremic syndrome (Shu) that there has never been in the world. All types of ECEH ^{[ ten ]} . »

Fake cucumbers [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The cucumber, a suspected time and the object of distrust on the part of consumers throughout the crisis

From the start of the crisis, Spanish cucumbers were publicly accused of being behind contamination before being discussed early June 2011 .

Germinated seeds [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The June 5, 2011 , studies in Germany are oriented towards the track of sprouted seeds of Munga beans (improperly called soy germs), added to certain compound salads ^{[ 11 ]} . The Minister of German health, Daniel Bahr, although prudent, says he “Clear indications that a company in Uelzen, in the north of the country, is apparently a source of infection ^{[ twelfth ]} » But the first tests prove to be negative and doubt about the origin of this crisis is resettled for several days ^{[ 13 ]} . The June 8, 2011 , German tabloid Picture reports that the killer bacteria was found on the remains of a cucumber in the trash of a sick family living in Magdeburg ^{[ 14 ]} Relieving a fear again around this vegetable. Finally, the June 10 , the director of the Federal Institute for Health Surveillance (RHKI) in Germany, Reinhard Burger, officially confirms that the sprouted seeds are the cause of this epidemic ^{[ 15 ]} . The conclusion is not presented as irrefutable, but rather as the product of an “so important chain of clues” and an absence of “other serious track”. THE June 11 , the German authorities declare that the Gärtnerhof farm in Bienenbütel is the source of contamination ^{[ 16 ]} .

The bacterial strain responsible for the disease has been identified as being Escherichia Coli O104: H4 , a rare strain ^{[ 17 ]} made pathogenic by the production of shiga-toxins whose toxin Stx2 ^{[ 18 ]} . A case had previously been documented in 2005, in Korea ^{[ 19 ]} . The search for “natural reservoir” (digestive tract of a hot blood animal) is still in progress, because this strain has not been found in any animal species ^{[ 20 ]} .

An uncertainty was expressed on the existence of an effective treatment to offer to the patients ^{[ 21 ]} . The June 2 , a study by Professor Bill Keevil at the University of Southampton reveals that these bacteria die in contact with copper ^{[ 22 ]} .

The June 18, 2011 , the strain is found in a stream near Frankfurt and near a treatment plant ^{[ 23 ]} .

Fluent July 2011 , some people who have consumed sprouted seeds from Great Britain are contaminated in Gironde near Bordeaux, the analyzes show a genetic link between the German and Bordeaux strains ^{[ 24 ]} While this strain is very rare ^{[ 25 ]} .

The production of sprouted seeds for human consumption, requiring a high degree of humidity and a sustained temperature, has been known for a long time to be conducive to the development of bacteria ^{[ 26 ]} And is therefore subject to very strict regulations: no contact with animals, neither manure, nor “natural fertilizers”, inspection to detect the possible presence of pathogenic microorganisms etc. The presence of this bacterial strain in the production of this farm has therefore not yet been explained ^{[ 27 ]} . Some merchants of organic products, in particular those who mainly produce “soybean germs”, are worried about the benefits of this crisis on their sales ^{[ 28 ]} .

This farm, which stopped its production on June 5 ^{[ 29 ]} , would have respected the safety instructions according to the German authorities who have not formed a complaint ^{[ 30 ]} .

The source of the infection has been drawn to the import of contaminated seeds from Egypt ^{[ thirty first ]} .

Schistocytes in a person with hemolytic and uremic syndrome.

The epidemic left 47 dead in June 29 , including 46 in Germany and one in Sweden ^{[ 20 ]} . More than 4,000 people have been affected in twelve countries ^{[ 20 ]} , mainly women of advanced age ^{[ 32 ]} .

A psychosis settled in Germany following contradictory information on the causes of this epidemic ^{[ 33 ]} .

Sales of raw vegetables, especially cucumbers, fell in Europe in early June 2011 after its public questioning. The losses that amount to millions of euros (10 tonnes of unsold cucumber have, for example, been destroyed in a carquefou farm in Loire-Atlantique, the June 6, 2011 ^{[ 34 ]} And the Spanish producers assess their losses to 225 million euros per week), but also from the point of view of food security, the European commissioners responsible for agriculture and health met the June 7, 2011 ^{[ 35 ]} . After initially announced a help of 150 million euros for vegetable producers, aid was brought to 210 million to cover 70% of the losses. Spain is also calling for financial assistance to promote its vegetables and thus regain consumer confidence ^{[ 36 ]} .

Health management by the German authorities is widely criticized, in particular because of the federal organization of the country which relegates food security problems at the level of regions. Discretion since the start of the epidemic of Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Federal Minister of Health Daniel Bahr named the May 12, 2011 , testifies to this weakness ^{[ 37 ]} . The opposition requires a centralized crisis unit ^{[ 38 ]} .

According to the analysis of André Gunthert, “the case of the killer bacteria” reveals two crises: that of the alert system and that of journalism which relays “blindly the dispatches” without verification ^{[ 39 ]} .

The organic sector has criticized the attitude of the media to abundantly relaying the fact that these sprouted seeds came from organic farming, not relevant information because this mode of production is subject to the same requirements in terms of health security food as agriculture conventional ^{[ 40 ] , [ 41 ]} .

This stigma of organic farming was notably conveyed in the press by two CNRS research directors, Francis-André Wollman and Jean-François Briat, who published a forum in the newspaper Release ^{[ 42 ]} , claiming that the Centers for the Control and Prevention of Diseases (CDC) of Atlanta would have carried out a study in 1996 linking a third of the deaths due to a pathogenic strain E. coli to the consumption of organic products. This based on affirmations of Alan Mchughen ^{[ 43 ] , [ 44 ]} , a Canadian scientist linked to conventional agriculture lobbies ^{[ 45 ]} , quoting the controversial essayist Dennis Avery himself in one of his books ^{[ 43 ]} and which, although largely quoted, is refuted by the CDC itself which claims to have never conducted a study in this way ^{[ forty six ]} .

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