Contaminated cucumbers cause deaths in Germany

German health officials said Thursday that a batch of contaminated cucumbers imported from Spain were one of the possible causes of an E. coli outbreak that has killed at least three people.

Some 600 people in Germany have been taken ill, of whom 140 are suffering from Hemolytic-uremic syndrome, better known as HUS, said German Health Minister Cornelia Prüfer-Storcks. The Hamburg Institute for Hygiene and Environment confirmed that the cucumbers originated from Spain. The outbreak has also affected 100 other people in Britain, the Netherlands and Sweden, Reuters said, quoting a health and consumer affairs spokesman for the European Commission.

E. coli, or escherichia coli, are common and harmless, but certain strains can be deadly. HUS, which is caused by E. coli, is an infection of the digestive system and produces toxic substances that destroy red blood cells. It can cause severe kidney damage. Symptoms usually begin with vomiting.

Three people have died from HUS in the north of Germany. The first victim was an 83-year-old woman in Lower Saxony, followed by an 89-year-old in Schleswig-Holstein. In Bremen, a 24-year-old also died, and Prüfer-Storcks said there could be a possible fourth victim. An autopsy of a 38-year-old man who was found dead in his Hamburg apartment showed that he had died after two days of severe diarrhea.