Health Authorities Seek Clues To EHEC Outbreak

HAMBURG, GERMANY - JUNE 02: Stool samples taken from patients lie on a table next to virgin bacteria cultures prior to being checked for enterohemorrhagic E. coli, also known as the EHEC bacteria, at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf on June 2, 2011 in Hamburg, Germany. German health authorities are continung to grapple with the current outbreak of EHEC and claim that initial suspicions of cucumbers from Spain as being the source are unfounded, though they warn against consuming raw vegetables. The University Medical Center has the highest number of patients infected with EHEC as well as 102 patients who have come down with hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS), a complication that can lead to kidney failure, convulsions and epileptic seizures and is caused by EHEC. Authorites are reporting at least 2,000 cases of EHEC infection nationwide and at least 470 cases of HUS. Across Europe at least 17 people have died from the outbreak. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)