German hospitals are struggling to cope with the flood of E.coli victims, health minister Daniel Bahr said on Sunday, as scientists remain puzzled by the deadly bug that has killed 19 and infected 1,700 people across Europe.
Hospitals in the northern port of Hamburg, epicentre of the outbreak that began three weeks ago, have been moving out patients with less serious illnesses to handle the surge of people stricken by a rare, highly toxic strain of the bacteria.
"We're facing a tense situation with patient care," Bahr told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper on Sunday. He added hospitals outside Hamburg could be used to make up for "insufficient capacity" in Germany's second largest city.
Authorities in Germany are racing to track down the source of the pathogen, which has infected people in 12 countries - all of whom had been travelling in northern Germany.
Officials believe people were made ill by eating lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers or other raw salad vegetables in Germany.
Scientists suspect the source of the contamination may have been poor hygiene at a farm, in transit, or in a shop or food outlet.
Many of those infected have developed haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS), a potentially deadly complication attacking the kidneys.