An urgent health warning has been issued in the UK after an E.coli outbreak was linked to 'nationally distributed food item'.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has stated that 113 cases have been reported which are "part of a single outbreak".
However, they did not give more details about the "food item" that was thought to be responsible.
The cases range in age from two years old to 79, with the majority of the infections in young adults, Sky News reports.
It has also been confirmed by the UKHSA that an unspecified number of people are being treated in hospital due to the outbreak.
Some people have been hospitalised by the current E.coli outbreak (Image: Getty Images)
Where have the cases of E.coli been reported?
At the moment the UKHSA has broken down the cases in the UK as follows:
- 81 in England
- 18 in Wales
- 13 in Scotland
- 1 in Northern Ireland (for this case, evidence suggests that they acquired their infection while visiting England)
In a statement, the agency said: "Based on the wide geographic spread of cases, it is most likely that this outbreak is linked to a nationally distributed food item or multiple food items."
Darren Whitby, head of incidents and resilience at the Food Standards Agency (FSA), said: "The FSA is working with UKHSA and relevant public health bodies to identify the source of the illness, which is likely to be linked to one or more food items.
"We always advise consumers and those looking after vulnerable people to ensure good hygiene practices are followed when handling and preparing food, regularly washing hands with soap and warm water and ensuring equipment, utensils and surfaces foods come into contact with are cleaned thoroughly to prevent cross-contamination.
"You should not prepare food for others if you have had symptoms, or for 48 hours after symptoms stop."
It is unknown at the time of writing what food item is thought to be behind the E.coli outbreak.
Recommended reading:
- Major cause of inflammatory bowel disease discovered by scientists
- One person dead after E.coli outbreak linked to cheese
- What is lymphoma and what are its symptoms to look out for?
What are the symptoms of E.coli?
According to the NHS Inform website, the symptoms of E.coli can include diarrhoea, stomach cramps and occasionally fever.
People usually notice symptoms around three to four days after they have been infected.
However, symptoms can start any time between one and 14 days afterwards
It is often transmitted by eating contaminated food but can also be spread by close contact with an infected person.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel