Quarantine tightened against E. coli

Disaster control center strengthens monitoring of travelers from Germany

By Kim Tae-jong

The government has strengthened its quarantine of travelers returning from Germany hit by the deadly E. coli outbreak, to prevent exposure to Korea.

The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDCP) has designated E. coli as an infectious disease that requires an immediate quarantine, and as the first step, they started to survey people arriving from Germany at Incheon International Airport.

“The pathogen is not something totally new,” said Park Hye-kyung, an official from the CDCP. “We have about 50 to 60 patients with the disease every year. But what’s unusual is it has spread quickly at an unprecedented pace, which is why we decided to tighten our monitoring measures.”

The CDCP now conducts a survey to ask whether passengers have recently suffered from diarrhea or vomiting and offers additional viral tests on those showing signs of infection, she said.

The pathogen has been spreading across Europe for weeks, starting from northern Germany, killing 22 people and infecting at least 2,200..

While authorities in Europe have yet to pin down the source of the disease, the German Agriculture Ministry Sunday reported vegetables grown on a domestic organic farm may have caused the outbreak, citing the preliminary test results.

There have been no reports of transmission of the infection in Korea and no evidence that any food here is contaminated with this strain of E coli.

But the CDCP advised anyone visiting Germany to avoid eating lettuce, cucumber and tomatoes, and to seek urgent medical advice if they have illness and bloody diarrhea within two weeks of being there as the incubation period for the illness is eight to 14 days.

It also emphasized good hygiene as very important in limiting person-to-person spread and children should be supervised with hand-washing after using the toilet and before eating. People are also advised to drink boiled water.

E coli bacteria usually causes diarrhea which settles within seven days without treatment. But Hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS), which is related to the cases in the current outbreak, is a serious complication from this particular strain that affects the blood, kidneys and, in severe cases, the central nervous system.

It is a serious illness that requires hospital care and can be fatal.