E Coli Outbreak Traced to Organic Bean Sprouts

The terrifying E. coli outbreak in Europe appears to have been caused by vegetable sprouts grown in Germany, an agriculture official Sunday as the toll climbed to at least 22 dead and more than 2,200 sickened.

Preliminary tests found that bean sprouts and other sprout varieties from an organic farm in the Uelzen area, between the northern cities of Hamburg and Hannover, could be connected to infected people in five German states, Lower Saxony Agriculture Minister Gert Lindemann said.

"There were more and more indications in the last few hours that put the focus on this farm," Lindemann said at a news conference.

Many restaurants involved in the outbreak had received deliveries of the sprouts, which are often used in salads, Lindemann's spokesman, Gert Hahne, told The Associated Press.

German Health Minister Daniel Bahr puts on gloves and a mask during his visit at the University Clinic Hamburg-Eppendorf in Hamburg, northern Germany, on Sunday, June 5, 2011. Hospitals in northern Germany are being overwhelmed as they struggle to provide enough beds and medical care for patients stricken by an outbreak of E. coli, the German health minister admitted Sunday.

Definitive test results should be available Monday, Lindemann said.

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