GENEVA, Switzerland — According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the E. coli bacteria responsible for the recent outbreak that has killed 17 and sickened hundreds in Europe is a new, previously unseen strain, BBC News reported.

Scientists at the Beijing Genomics Institute in China have also reported that the E. coli is a new strain of highly infectious bacteria, the article stated.

Evidence suggests that the bacteria have genes from two distinct groups of E. coli, according to the story.

“One nasty bacteria seems to have acquired a toxin from another nasty bacteria which has resulted in an even nastier bug,” said Liverpool University’s Dr. Paul Wigley. “It seems it is producing two toxins which cause the damage and lead to bloody diarrhea and damage to tissues including the kidneys.”

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