Cucumber. Photographed and eaten by VDuBourdieu©May 31, 2011

An incident in Germany involving the potentially deadly disease Ecoli has brought widespread concern in the media.

According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (EDCDP), 373 people were confirmed to have caught Ecoli.

Most of the cases were in Hamburg, Germany, and 68% of those affected were women.

Meanwhile, authorities in the Czech Republic and Austria have taken some Spanish-grown cucumbers off store shelves over fears they are contaminated with Ecoli.

So how people can best avoid catching the bug? GP Dr Rosemary Leonard explains the symptoms and offers some advice here:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/health

Whatever the bug, it is always advisable to wash and, if necessary, peel vegetables befoe eating, whether they are to be used raw or cooked.

Whilst the Ecoli incident in Germany is extremely distressing for those directly involved, the media may be over-reacting, according to European Tour Operators Association (ETOA).

It is important to note:

• Ecoli is endemic in all societies, and such regrettable “peak” outbreaks occur regularly in such developed countries as the United States and Japan. They are containable.

• The current outbreak is exclusively associated with Northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony, North-Rhine-Westfalia and Hamburg). There appear to be no sources of an outbreak in any other region of Germany, nor any other country in Europe.

• Those involved seem to have been exposed to a contaminated batch of cucumbers. There is no evidence that there are any other foods, such as meat or dairy products, involved.

• Whilst the occurrence of this outbreak is naturally a cause for concern, the risks posed to travellers even in the affected regions of Germany are extremely minimal.

• There are no extraordinary risks posed to travellers in Europe as a whole.

It is always difficult to take a clear stand on a situation like this, especially when attention is drawn to individual instances. But there is a danger of undue concern occurring where no unusual risk exists.

In these circumstances any formal measures (such as the condemning all uncooked vegetables) seems disproportionate, particularly in areas outside those affected.

Since its foundation in 1989, ETOA has grown exponentially to include over 500 member organisations, of which more than 150 are Tour Operators.