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Qatar has banned the import of cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce from Spain and Germany, state news agency QNA reported Saturday, amid an E. coli outbreak that has killed 19 people in 12 countries.
“Qatar Supreme Council of Health has decided to impose a temporary ban on fresh cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce imported from Spain and Germany due to the spread of E. coli,” the agency said.
The council will “not hesitate in banning all vegetables from all European countries if necessary,” QNA quoted a council spokesperson as saying.
All but one of the fatalities since the outbreak of enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) poisoning began last month have been in Germany. A patient who died in Sweden had recently returned from Germany.
Regional German health authorities have reported more than 2,000 cases of people falling ill with EHEC poisoning, with symptoms including stomach cramps, diarrhoea, fever and vomiting.