This is really horrible. But luckily for these people, they don’t have to worry about whether they can afford to go to the hospital, because this is a very expensive illness to treat:
FRANKFURT—Europe’s severe outbreak of Escherichia coli bacterial infections worsened further on Friday as more people succumbed to the lethal strain in Germany and around Europe.
Total reported cases in Germany reached 1,733, with 520 of those resulting in severe complications that can lead to kidney failure, according to the Robert Koch Institute, a research body funded by the German health ministry. Cases have been reported in at least 11 other European countries.
The Spanish, Portuguese and German governments said on Friday that they would request EU aid for farmers affected by the outbreak, which is costing farmers millions of euros as mountains of vegetables sit rotting and uneaten.
The source of the outbreak still hasn’t been found, and authorities continue to warn against eating raw lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers. So far, 18 people have died from the strain, which is the deadliest outbreak of E. coli in modern history.
Bernhard at Moon of Alabama lives in Hamburg or close by, iirc. I hope he’s well. I keep thinking about him.