Reinhard Burger, head of Germany’s Robert Koch Institute (RKI) which monitors epidemics, said the country usually saw between 50 and 60 cases of HUS annually. The first priority is to trace the pathogen to its mysterious source, and that process is ongoing.
The essence of fieldwork to trace epidemics is interviews with sick patients, with lengthy questionnaires designed to find common denominators. What is the one food that all or most of the sick Germans have eaten in the last three weeks?
According to one German report, all of the victims in Frankfurt ate at the same cafeteria in that city. That information could lead investigators to the source — even if the contaminated food is long gone.