E. coli Death Toll Hits 16

Despite a ban on vegetable imports, an E. coli outbreak is spreading through Europe apace. The death toll has now reportedly risen to 16, and one of those deaths is in Sweden, the first outside of Germany. Estimates on the number of people infected vary widely, but there are hundreds in Germany, with the geographic reach spreading, and dozens in Sweden as well—although all of them are reportedly in patients who had traveled to Germany recently. A specific cause hasn’t been fingerprinted yet, but authorities believe infected cucumbers may be to blame.