PHUKET: HEALTH officials and a spokesperson for Phuket International Airport have rejected reports that passengers are being checked at all international airports in Thailand because of concerns in Europe over a particularly strong new food bacteria.

The e.coli from an as-yet undetermined source - possibly cucumbers, tomatoes or lettuce - has caused deaths in Germany and Sweden and been noted in 11 countries across Europe, with more than 1600 people falling ill.

Some airlines have removed those food items from flight menus.

The Phuket International Airport spokesperson said that the only direct flights from Europe landing on Phuket at present were from Russia.

Four people in the US apparently have fallen sick, with two women and a man admitted to hospital with kidney failure.

One of the four fell ill while on a plane to the US.

Scientists have discovered that the deadly e.coli strain mixes a highly poisonous but common toxin with a rarely seen ''glue'' that binds it to patients' intestines.

Normal forms of the bacterium can cause serious diarrhoea. But this strain is leading in many cases to a more severe reaction known as hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS, which can lead to seizures, strokes and kidney failure.