New data released in Germany strongly suggests that locally produced bean sprouts were, as suspected, the source of the deadly E. coli outbreak. Officials initially blamed the E. coli, which has killed 29 people, on imported cucumbers, then bean sprouts. In another development, Russia agreed to lift its ban on imports of EU fresh vegetables in return for guarantees. The Russian ban had compounded a crisis for EU vegetable-growers, with Spanish cucumber producers wrongly blamed for the contamination. Some 3,000 people have been taken ill with the German outbreak of E. coli, which involves a previously unknown strain of the bacterium. Sufferers may develop haemolytic uraemic syndrome where bacteria attack the kidneys and nervous system, giving them fits and often forcing them on to dialysis.