News
E.Coli outbreak leads to death
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has identified 2 individuals in England who have died within 28 days of infection with the STEC outbreak, with one likely to be linked.
Both individuals passed away in May and are said to have had underlying medical conditions.
Since 25 June, there have been an additional 19 cases associated with the outbreak of STEC O145. This brings the total confirmed cases to 275 in the UK.
While case report rates are declining, the UKHSA says it expects to see further cases arise as testing continues.
Commenting, Amy Douglas, incident director at the UKHSA said: “We’re pleased that fewer cases have been reported, however we still expect to see a few more cases linked to this outbreak as further samples are referred to us for testing.”
Earlier this month, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) announced that the outbreak is likely linked to contaminated lettuce.
“We confirmed that several sandwich manufacturers had taken precautionary action to withdraw and recall various sandwiches, wraps, subs and rolls after food chain and epidemiological links enabled us to narrow down a wide range of foods to a type of lettuce used in sandwich products as the likely cause of the outbreak,” said Darren Whitby, head of incidents at the FSA.
He continued: “This remains a complex investigation and we continue to work with the relevant businesses and the local authorities to ensure necessary steps are being taken to protect consumers. Although we are confident in the likely source of the outbreak being linked to lettuce, work continues to confirm this and identify the root cause of the outbreak with the growers, suppliers and manufacturers so that actions can be taken to prevent a re-occurrence.”
