Two more people have died in Germany of a bacterial outbreak allegedly caused by contaminated Spanish cucumbers - bringing the number of deaths to nine.
German news agency DAPD reported that two more women had died and almost 300 are sick with hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS, in recent days.
HUS is a rare complication arising from an infection most commonly associated with E.coli, a bacterium found in undercooked beef or contaminated food.
German officials have said they found three cucumbers from Spain with the bacterium and they are currently probing whether the cucumbers were contaminated with E.coli when they were shipped from southern Spain, or if they went bad during shipment or while being handled in Germany.
The Health Protection Agency said that German authorities have identified organic cucumbers from Almeria and Malaga in Spain, as one source of the outbreak.
Investigations are ongoing in Germany to identify other potential sources, while a third suspect batch of cucumbers from Holland is also under investigation.
Some food products were also withdrawn from the German market.
The Food Standards Agency is monitoring the situation and stressed there was no evidence that any affected organic cucumbers from the sources identified were distributed to the UK.
The HPA said anyone returning from Germany with illness, including bloody diarrhoea, should seek urgent medical attention and mention their travel history.
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