The death toll from the outbreak of E coli in Germany rose to 30 on Thursday as the Government admitted its failure in dealing with the worst bacterial epidemic in six decades.

A 57-year-old man became the latest victim who travelled with his wife to the Northern city of Hamburg, an epicentre of the outbreak, authorities said.

The Ministers also admitted failures in their crisis management a

Health authorities groped in the dark in search of the source of the E coli infection with suspicions about bean sprouts being a potential carrier yet to be substantiated, as the death toll in Germany