The World Health Organisation has said that the E coli bacterium responsible for an outbreak that has left 17 dead and infected hundreds in Europe is a new strain that has never been seen before, AP reports.

Preliminary genetic sequencing suggests that the strain is a mutant form of two different E coli bacteria, with lethal genes that could explain why the Europe-wide outbreak appears to be so big and dangerous, the agency said.

Hilde Kruse, a food safety expert at the WHO told The Associated Press that "this is a unique strain that has never been isolated from patients before".

She added that the new strain has "various characteristics that make it more virulent and toxin-producing".

So far, the mutant E coli strain has infected more than 1,500 others, including 470 who have developed a rare kidney failure complication. Researchers have been unable to pinpoint the cause of the outbreak, which has hit at least nine European countries.

Nearly all the sick people either live in Germany or recently travelled there. Two people who were infected are now in the US, and both had recently travelled to Hamburg, Germany, where many of the cases occurred.

Fearful of the outbreak spreading into Russia, the country on Thursday extended its ban on vegetable imports to all of the EU. Russia had banned fresh imports from Spain and Germany on Monday.