Number of Rare E. Coli Cases in U.S. Rose Last Year http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/08/us/08food.html Economic costs of E. Coli outbreak http://video.ca.msn.com/watch/video/economic-costs-of-e-coli-outbreak/16ifpbqes EU boosts E. Coli compensation offer for farmers http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15141284,00.html Q&A: E. Coli outbreak http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-13600144 FightBac! http://www.fightbac.org/ Today, Germany's head of their Center for Disease Control, Reinhard Burger said, "It's the bean sprouts." After 29 deaths, thousands taken ill, and produce bans that included Spanish cucumbers, tomatoes, and lettuce, it is believed that they have found the source of one of history's most dangerous outbreaks of E. Coli. Nine countries were affected by the outbreak, including Great Britain, Germany, Spain, Poland, and the United States. Russia recently placed a ban on all EU produce, thus adding an economic crisis to the medical crisis. In Germany, so many people were infected that hospitals struggled to cope, and because it was a new strain and extremely aggressive many health institutions were often offering conflicting advice. Thankfully, German officials seem to have located the source and the hope is that now the spread of this particular strain can be contained. Burger warns that the outbreak is "not yet over" as there "will be new cases coming up." However, with the source of this outbreak found, perhaps the EU, and the rest of the world, can focus on how to prevent these outbreaks in the future. The first link will take visitors to a news article on the recent announcement about bean sprouts from the New York Times. The second link will take visitors to another article from the New York Times which discusses the increasing number of rare E. Coli cases in the U.S. The third link will take visitors to a MSN video that examines the financial toll an E. Coli outbreak can take on produce farmers. The fourth link leads to an article from Deutsche Welle that discusses compensation the EU is offering farmers affected by the outbreak and subsequent produce bans. The fifth link is an informative Q&A from the BBC about E. Coli. The last link will lead visitors to the FightBac! website, a food safety initiative that educates consumers about reducing the risk of food borne illnesses.