First child death from E. coli reported in Germany

     BERLIN, June 14 (Xinhua) -- A two-year-old boy became the first child to be killed by the deadly E. coli in Germany on Tuesday, officials said.

    To date, the terrifying EHEC infection has claimed 36 lives in Germany and one in Sweden.

    The child, from the northern town of Celle, died in hospital in Hanover of kidney failure and abnormal(反常的，异常的) breakdown¹ of red blood cells, two extreme symptoms of the infection with enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), authorities in the state of Lower Saxony said.

    The boy became the youngest known fatal victim since the outbreak of E. coli in May. His father and 10-year-old brother were also infected with the deadly bacteria, but are recovering, doctors told a local newspaper.

    The Robert Koch Institute, Germany's national disease prevention and control agency, said on Tuesday that a total of 3, 235 cases had been reported in the country. Among them, 782 people are suffering from haemolytic uraemic syndrome² (HUS), a life- threatening illness arising from E. coli, which would destroy human kidney and nervous system.

    The institute added that the number of new infections is declining sharply in recent days, with only seven reported on Tuesday.

    German authorities announced on Friday that bean sprouts³ from a farm in northern Germany were one source of the outbreak, and dropped the previous warning against eating raw cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce⁴. However, the food panic has caused losses worth hundreds of millions of dollars for European farmers.（本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑）

1 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。

2 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

3 sprouts   

n.新芽，嫩枝( sprout的名词复数 )v.发芽( sprout的第三人称单数 )；抽芽；出现；（使）涌现出

参考例句：

• The wheat sprouts grew perceptibly after the rain. 下了一场雨，麦苗立刻见长。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The sprouts have pushed up the earth. 嫩芽把土顶起来了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 lettuce   

n.莴苣；生菜

参考例句：

• Get some lettuce and tomatoes so I can make a salad.买些莴苣和西红柿，我好做色拉。
• The lettuce is crisp and cold.莴苣松脆爽口。