French woman dies of E. coli

The woman had been hospitalized in Bordeaux in southwest France since June 24 with hemolytic uremic syndrome - the rare kidney condition affecting a small number of people infected with E. coli.

Dr. Benoit Vendrely at Bordeaux Hospital said the strain of E.coli the woman was infected with was not the one implicated in the deaths of 48 people in Germany and one each in the United States and Sweden. He didn't identify the source of the French woman's E. coli contamination.

Seven other patients remain in stable condition at the same French hospital, six of whom have been confirmed to have the same strain of E.coli as in the outbreak that originated in Germany. European health experts said Thursday that contaminated Egyptian fenugreek seeds were likely the source of that deadly outbreak.

German authorities on Friday reported another death in the European E. coli outbreak - bringing the total to 50.

The national disease control center said 48 deaths have been reported in Germany, up from 47 a day earlier. One death in Sweden and another in the U.S. are linked to the outbreak, according to the World Health Organization.

A total of 3,999 people have now been reported to be ill in Germany from the outbreak, including 845 with a complication that can lead to kidney failure. Another 122 cases have been reported in 16 other countries.

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