German beansprouts are the likely cause of the E.coli outbreak that has killed 22 people in Europe, German officials have said.

GERMAN agricultural authorities yesterday identified locally-grown beansprouts as the likely cause of an E coli outbreak that has killed 22 people and sickened over 2,200 others in Europe.

The H5N1 strain of bird flu has been confirmed in Lower Saxony, the sixth German state to be reached by the virus, the state agriculture ministry said yesterday.