Russia awaits EU answer on intestinal infection

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MOSCOW, June 5 (Itar-Tass) - Russia has been waiting for a
professional assessment of the situation with intestinal infection that
has already killed about 20 people, Gennady Onishchenko, Russia's chief
sanitary doctor, said in an interview with the Russia television channel
on Saturday. There has been no response as of yet.
"I said about that this week when Russian First Vice-Premier Igor
Shuvalov was having talks with European commissioners. At that time,
Germany and Spain, the latter was accused of spreading the infection into
Germany without any reason, were still closed. For a professional it's
clear that there was no infection there but we need an official stance,"
Onishchenko went on to say.
Onishchenko named several reasons for banning vegetable exports from
the European Union. "The strain of the E.coli 0104 bacteria turned out to
be extremely toxic. Unlike traditional intestinal infections, which
usually affect children and old people, this kind of illness affects
able-bodied population, of which 61 % are women. There are plenty of
grounds for the measures to be taken," Onishchenko emphasized.
He also mentioned that antibiotics used by European doctors were not
killing the infection.
Onishchenko recommended that Russian citizens who buy vegetables
should ask sellers for documents indicating the country exporter. "If
these vegetables are from Europe, I would recommend to refrain from eating
them," Russia's chief sanitary doctor said, adding that Russian citizens
would guarantee their own safety if they buy domestic vegetables and
observe rules of personal hygiene.
"If you have any doubts, bake them. Be careful, and everything's going
to be fine," Onishchenko said in the end of the program.