The numbers of dead and dying continue to spin out of control in Europe s no one seems to know how this happened.

German Health Minister Daniel Bahr said Monday that authorities still haven’t pinned down definitively the source of the E. coli infection — and "we unfortunately still have to expect a rising number of cases."

An EU official who spoke on condition of anonymity due to standing regulations, said the transport chain was long, and the cucumbers from Spain could have been contaminated at any point along the route.

Spain, meanwhile, went on the defensive, saying there was no proof that the E. coli outbreak has been caused by Spanish vegetables.

"You can’t attribute the origin of this sickness to Spain," Spain’s Secretary of State for European Affairs, Diego Lopez Garrido told reporters in Brussels. "There is no proof and that’s why we are going to demand accountability from those who have blamed Spain for this matter."