The German Minister for Health has said that while it is too early to give the all-clear in relation to the deadly E.coli outbreak, which has killed 24 people, the epidemic does appear to be on the decline.

Speaking on German television yesterday, Daniel Bahr said that it appears that ‘the worst is behind us'.

"I cannot sound the all clear, but after analysing the latest data we have reasonable cause for hope," he said.

However, he added that more deaths were to be expected.

The outbreak has been caused by Shiga toxin-producing E.coli (STEC). STEC is a group of E.coli strains capable of producing Shiga toxins, which have the potential to cause severe diseases in humans, including haemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a serious disease of the kidneys.

According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, since May 2, 674 cases of HUS and 1,755 non-HUS STEC cases have been reported in EU member states. The vast majority of these have been in Germany. No cases have been reported in Ireland so far.

While contaminated food ‘seems the most likely vehicle of infection', the source of contamination has yet to be pinpointed. It was originally wrongly blamed on Spanish cucumbers and then on beansprouts from an organic farm in Germany.

Experts have acknowledged that the origin of the infection may never be discovered.

For more information, see the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control's website here