9 V3 a2 B. @; o! |PARIS — The German government came under increased criticism on Tuesday at home and abroad, accused of mismanaging the crisis surrounding an E. coli outbreak that has killed more than 20 people.# u: I& j' B: I; z+ z* [
! o5 u2 k# A$ B, k( iGerman officials, however, reported a slight fall in the rate of newly reported infections. “There is much to suggest that we have put the worst behind us,” said Daniel Bahr, the federal health minister. Still, officials said they did not know the source of the outbreak.; b1 g; y* e; E# q9 x
; z' T+ P, q2 v" y
According to the Robert Koch Institute, Germany’s disease control agency, as of Tuesday 2,325 confirmed and suspected cases of E. coli infection have been reported across Germany since early May, about 640 of them involving a potentially lethal complication that affects the kidneys and the nerve system.; D4 C: [8 E. H$ j) C
% l0 C2 j. |! k( F0 L$ a8 HThe World Health Organization has reported 23 deaths, 22 in Germany and 1 in Sweden. The Koch Institute, which put the death toll at 22, said 16 of those deaths came from the complication. " H% s8 c$ S. R2 K+ M7 Y 8 F5 Z% N. c" ~0 H/ vThe levels of new cases “suggest a slight reduction,” the institute said on its Web site, but “it cannot currently be determined whether this reduction will continue.” * |+ M4 `) W; e1 J 2 s# t5 z0 d" y m) a+ M ' `0 F# v, c- C$ f德国卫生部长丹尼尔.巴尔 & u( V% o; x |3 }7 t7 M8 D) g& L3 lGesundheitsminister Bahr: Jagd nach dem Feind ' f. c+ T7 {" uBahrs Ehec-Krisenmanagement $ d7 b" C9 Z4 d- O' u( mVerseucht, verheddert, vermurkst 9 l- C9 q( e' _9 b$ d, N e8 O/ `+ M/ l l& N- k
+ M7 K% Y3 ]6 p4 v# V7 e
Erst Gurken, dann Sprossen - und nun? Deutschlands oberster Ehec-Manager Daniel Bahr jagt erfolglos nach dem Feind im Essen. Statt Führungsstärke zu zeigen, sieht der FDP-Minister zu, wie Erkenntnisse im Behördendickicht festhängen.
