EU commits more funds to E Coli research

People who have harboured fears over environmental health issues since the recent outbreak of E Coli will see more EU funding put into research.

The European Commission has announced today (August 9th) that an extra €12 million (£10.4 million) will be spent on boosting the continent's ability to deal with such outbreaks.

Around 4,000 people were struck down with the complaint earlier this year, of which 46 people lost their lives.

Research into the new strain of the bacteria will get underway this autumn and €2.1 million of funding has been set aside specifically for this purpose.

"Our policy is to focus EU research and innovation funding on the things that matter most to Europeans and of course health is right at the top of that list," commented European commissioner for research, innovation and science Maire Geoghegan-Quinn.

Last month, the EU committed €244 million to a number of projects, some of which are aimed at raising awareness of environmental legislation across Europe.

Posted by Lauren Steadman