There is now debate whether the problem is related to the farms or the transportation. Most of the problem has been connected with northern Germany so there may be something specific that happened there. The Guardian:
An E coli outbreak that has killed 14 people and made more than 300 seriously ill in Germany has spread to other north European countries and is expected to worsen in the coming week.
"We hope that the number of cases will go down but we fear that it will worsen," said Oliver Grieve, spokesman for the University Medical Centre Schleswig-Holstein in north Germany, where many of those afflicted are being treated.
The source of the virulent strain of the bacteria is unknown, German authorities said on Monday ahead of a meeting of federal and state officials in Berlin.
