Germany steps up hunt for deadly E.coli source

BERLIN/LONDON (Reuters) – Racing to curb the spread of a killer food bug, Germany set up a task force on Friday to hunt down the source of a highly toxic strain of E.coli that has killed 19 people and sounded alarms around the world.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, locked in a trade row with the European Union after banning imports of its raw fruit and vegetables, struck a dramatic note by saying he would not "poison" Russians by lifting the embargo.

Stick it to the Euros Mad Vlad.

Health authorities repeated warnings to avoid some raw vegetables in northern Germany -- rattling farmers and stores in the high season for salad -- and said 199 new cases of the rare strain of the bacteria had been reported in the past two days.

The total of those infected in Germany since the outbreak was detected in early May rose to 1,733 and Germany's death toll rose by two on Friday to 18, added to one death reported in Sweden, in possibly the deadliest ever such outbreak recorded.

Germany steps up hunt for deadly E.coli source - Yahoo! News