Health Minister Joseph Cassar assured Parliament that there was no risk of E. coli being imported by tourists.
Answering a question by Labour MP Noel Farrugia, he said a number of European countries had reported cases of diarrhoea with blood, caused by the E.coli 1014 microbe. In some cases there had also been complications leading to death. Most cases had been in Germany, but Deutsche-Welle reported yesterday that the death toll in Germany’s killer E.coli outbreak had risen to 36, a day after authorities said more fatalities could not be ruled out. Other fatalities had also been reported in Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, France, the United Kingdom, Austria and Spain.
Dr Cassar said the Public Regulation Department in Malta was continually monitoring the situation both locally and in Europe. Malta was a participant in European communication systems that immediately reported every case of infection as well as alerts in matters pertaining to health and food security.