New data released in Germany strongly suggests that locally produced bean sprouts¹ were, as suspected, the source of the deadly E. coli outbreak.

德国新公布的数据充分显示，当地生产的豆芽是此次致命大肠杆菌爆发的传染源。

It is believed the bean sprouts were produced in Germany
"It's the bean sprouts," said Reinhard Burger, head of Germany's centre for disease control.

Officials initially² blamed the E. coli, which has killed 29 people, on imported cucumbers, then bean sprouts（豆芽） .

In another development, Russia agreed to lift its ban on imports of EU fresh vegetables in return for guarantees.

The Russian ban had compounded a crisis for EU vegetable-growers, with Spanish cucumber producers wrongly blamed for the contamination（污染） .

Mr Burger, who heads the Robert Koch Institute, told reporters on Friday that even though no tests of the sprouts from a farm in Lower Saxony had come back positive, the epidemiological（流行病学的） investigation³ of the pattern of the outbreak had produced enough evidence to draw the conclusion.

The institute, he added, was lifting its warning against eating cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce⁴（生菜，莴苣） , but keeping it in place for the sprouts.

Some 3,000 people have been taken ill with the German outbreak of E. coli, which involves a previously⁵ unknown strain of the bacterium⁶（细菌） .

Sufferers may develop haemolytic uraemic syndrome⁷ (HUS溶血性尿毒综合症) where bacteria attack the kidneys and nervous system, giving them fits and often forcing them on to dialysis.