Analysis of Major Food Poisoning Outbreak in Germany 2011

Analysis of Major Food Poisoning Outbreak in Germany
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Introduction
The year 2011 was a difficult one for the European region. A region well known for exercising high safety precautions when it comes to food, it was struck by a food poisoning outbreak which went viral. The outbreak which began in the middle of the year spread to various other parts of the European region. This forced a withdrawal of some of the foods from the shelves of the various food outlets (Andrews, p. 18). It was an outbreak that caused a lot of devastation in the entire European region. This discussion takes an analysis of the outbreak, its causes and impacts. The discussion also looks at ways in which such situations can be improved thereby reducing the possibilities of similar outbreaks in the future.
Details of the Outbreak
Timeline
According to confirmed reports from Germany, the outbreak is said to have began towards the end of the spring period of the year 2011. The outbreak began in the central region of Europe and Germany was among the worst hit countries in the region. According to the reports, more than 4,000 people suffered from the infections of the virus (Benedict, p. 45). That was the figure in Germany alone, with the entire European region believed to have recorded more than ten thousand cases of infections in total. During the outbreak, a total number of 54 deaths were reported. The microorganism that caused the food poisoning is a bacterium known as Escherichia Coli. Those who were badly affected by the bacteria contracted an illness known as hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS). The main characteristic of the disease was severe diarrhea that would then develop into HUS (Benedict, p. 70). Failure get treatment urgently would lead to death.
Foods Affected
The main foods that were said to carry the bacteria were fresh vegetables. The main sources that were believed to be carriers of the deadly pathogen were cucumbers and beans. There were multiple reports, which attempted to establish the main source where the bacteria could have originated. It was said that cucumbers from Spain could have been the main source of the disease causing microorganism (Bone, p. 23). Other reports indicated that beans from Egypt could have been the source of the contamination. Some greenhouses in Spain where the cucumbers were grown were closed for investigations. Test samples obtained from the farm would later show that some of the samples indeed tested positive for the bacteria. Other vegetables that were seen to be carriers included tomatoes and all other vegetables used in making salads
Features of the Micro-organisms
There are a number of different strains of Escherichia Coli. These strains are found in the intestines of human beings. Most of them are said to be harmless but there are few which if present can cause serious damage to the organs within. In extreme cases, the microorganisms can lead to death. The particular strain of bacteria that caused the poisoning exhibited multiple traits possessed by two of the most dangerous strains. The features of the microorganism were found to be surprising because such a case had not been experienced previously (Bone, p. 32). Although there are other cases that had been reported in other parts of the world, the bacteria identified then did not exhibit similar features as the one seen in Germany. The diarrhea which is the main symptom displayed by those suffering from the microorganism could last up to seven days. Depending on the response in terms of treatment, the diarrhea could either die down or in some cases cause death. Scientists also argued that this strain of bacteria had an effect of causing secretion of a substance that was considered toxic in the body of human beings. It is the substance secreted that caused serious complications within the body. Below is a picture of the E Coli chromosome. It shows the various features of the bacterium which were analyzed by scientists


Courtesy of  HYPERLINK "http://utminers.utep.edu/rwebb/html/the_e__coli_genome.html" http://utminers.utep.edu/rwebb/html/the_e__coli_genome.html
The particular strain that caused the outbreak displayed various combined factors of virulence. On one hand, the strain displayed factors of enteroaggregative E Coli and it also displayed virulence factors of enterohaemorrhagic strain. One of the main features of the genome of the E Coli strain is that it is made up of one chromosome known as haploid. The below picture shows how the Ecoli bacteria appear when seen under a microscope.


The Viral Nature of the Outbreak
Unlike most outbreaks that are easily contained upon discovery, this particular outbreak was quite viral. It spread to many parts of Germany and the larger European region within a short period of time. According to researchers and scientists, the strain of bacteria that caused the outbreak was highly plastic and had the ability to replicate itself. In containing an outbreak, the main aspect of a microorganism that is controlled is its ability to replicate (The Economist, p. 2-5). In this case however, it was not immediately possible to contain the replication of the microorganism. This is because of the strange and unique features that it displayed making to difficult for scientists to immediately establish its kind. It was also established that due to the multiple features that the microorganism was displaying, the scientists could have given the wrong medication. As result, the antibiotics given produced a side effect that provided a conducive environment for faster growth and replication of the microorganism.
How the Outbreak Happened
As aforementioned, there were multiple sources that were identified as possible origins of the bacteria. However, facts to the contrary would later be given, leaving the actual source of the bacteria a mystery. Up to today, it is not clear the origin of the bacteria making it difficult to avoid and control. The countries where the disease-causing microorganism was believed to come from included Spain and Egypt. It was however not fully established whether indeed the two countries or either of them was the actual origin. Despite the identification of cucumbers and sprouts of beans as the main causes, it was not easy to identify whether these two had come from a specific country (Gun p. 18-9).
Impact of Outbreak
Besides the obvious impacts of the skyrocketing number of people who have been infected, there are whole lots of other impacts. Compared to epidemics such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, the number of people affected by the bacteria was relatively small. That number, however, has not stopped the negative impacts from being felt not only in Germany but other part of the world as well. The German authorities argued that the coverage given by the media led to a false alarm among the public (Institute of Food Research). They maintain that even though Germany was hard hit by the outbreak, control measures were put in place fast enough. They further argue that only a small part of the population was affected. The government of Germany however admits that it faced numerous challenges due to the fact that the bacterium was spread through food. The other challenge was the fact it was not immediately possible to identify the origin of the bacteria and therefore difficult to control it.
The impact of the outbreak was felt in almost all spheres. The economic sphere was perhaps one of the most affected. This is because of the various quarantines that were imposed on virtually all fresh vegetables into and out of Germany. The main challenge as aforementioned in dealing with this crisis is the lack of information that the government was facing (Ian, p. 52-5). It was not clear where the pathogen originated from and several leads would reach a dead end. For instance, the Spanish spinach and cucumbers had been said to be the main sources of the bacteria. Yet upon testing, the results came back negative. The same was done to bean sprouts from Egypt and the results were equally negative. It therefore became difficult for the government to control the spread as they did not know the origin.
In the economic spheres, the quarantines saw huge losses incurred. Unfortunately in the economic sector, when losses are incurred, there is always a ripple effect. This means that when one sector is affected, the effect trickles down to other sectors. A loss for one sector is therefore in effect a loss for many other sectors that depend directly or indirectly on the sector affected. In this case therefore, the grocery sector and especially those who deal with fresh vegetables were affected. The export industry was also affected as Germany and other countries such as Spain and Egypt could not make exports of fresh vegetables (Karch et al p. 47). Germany could not make exports of vegetables and fruits for a long time as other countries of the world feared a similar outbreak of food poisoning. Spain was equally hard hit as Germany because pretty much of its production of fresh vegetables was ground to a halt. Germany is one of the biggest importers of fresh vegetables from Spain. They temporal withdrawal by Germany was a big slap to the production of fresh vegetables which as result affected the economy of Spain (Wiwanitkit, p.36).
The tourism sector was also affected. Usually, when there is an outbreak of a contagious disease whether foodborne, airborne or waterborne disease, a quarantine is also done on the population. This means that people from the country that is affected are not allowed to leave the country to avoid spreading the disease to other countries. On the other hand, people from other countries are also not allowed to enter the country that is affected to prevent an increase in the number of people affected. During the outbreak in Germany, movement was almost grounded. People could not be allowed to move from their country. This had an effect on businesses that rely on in...