Officials confirm Arizona death tied to E. coli epidemic

ATLANTA (Reuters) - U.S. health officials have confirmed that the recent death of an Arizona resident was linked to an E. coli outbreak that has killed more than 40 people in Europe.

The Arizona man, who was over age 65 and had recently traveled to Germany, is the first person in the United States to die as a result of the outbreak, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

There have been six confirmed cases in the United States of patients who were sickened by the bacteria, the CDC said on its website on Friday.

"Among these six cases, one death has been reported in an Arizona resident who traveled to Germany before becoming ill," the CDC said.

The CDC confirmed on Thursday that the Arizona patient had the same strain of E. coli that has swept Europe, spokeswoman Lola Russell told Reuters in an email.

More than 4,100 people in Europe and North America have been infected in two outbreaks of E. coli infection -- one centered in northern Germany and one focused around the French city of Bordeaux.

Almost all of those affected by the first outbreak -- the deadliest on record -- lived in Germany or had recently traveled there. Most of the deaths have been in Germany.

"An imported lot of fenugreek seeds which was used to grow sprouts imported from Egypt by a German importer is the most common likely link," the European Food Safety Authority said in a statement this week.

(Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Cynthia Johnston)