China said on Friday that no case of E. coli (EHEC) has been reported in the country.

Deng Haihua, spokesman for the Ministry of Health, told a press conference that there was a relatively low risk of an outbreak of EHEC, a food-borne bacteria, since the country imports only a limited amount of fresh vegetables.

Peter Ben Embarek, food safety specialist with the World Health Organization (WHO), was quoted by Deng as saying that the possibility of being infected with EHEC in China was almost zero and Chinese public need not panic.

However Deng warned of the potential of infected people arriving in the country from Europe.

The ministry will keep in close contact with the WHO and concerned European nations to closely monitor the epidemic, said Deng.

Meanwhile, the ministry has urged related authorities to carry out meticulous surveillance and prevention measures, and ordered medical institutions at all levels to beef up monitoring of suspected EHEC cases and to report these cases promptly to the ministry.

EHEC is a virulent strain of gut bacterium that can result in stomach aches, diarrhea, and strokes. In extreme cases, it can result in coma or kidney failure.

EHEC has sickened more than 2,800 in Germany, the worst affected country.

Latest report say 97 others have fallen sick in 12 other European countries, as well as three in the United States.

A total of 27 people have died, with 26 in Germany and one in Sweden.