The UK Public Health Agency (UKHSA) has today announced a nationwide outbreak of E. coli affecting 113 people. Officials said the outbreak was caused by the consumption of a nationally distributed food product and symptoms included severe and sometimes bloody diarrhea, stomach cramps, vomiting and fever.
“Whole genome sequencing of samples in the current investigation shows that most cases are part of a single outbreak. Based on the wide geographical spread of cases, it is likely that this outbreak is linked to a nationally distributed foodstuff or multiple foodstuffs.
The source of this outbreak has not yet been confirmed, but there is currently no evidence that the outbreak is linked to open farms, drinking water or swimming in contaminated seawater, lakes or rivers.”
Health officials said 113 cases have been reported since May 25, and the age range of those infected with coli bacillus is 2 to 79 years old, with the majority being young adults. UKHSA stated that they generally see an average of 1500 cases on an annual basis, but in this outbreak, they expect a higher number of cases once the genome sequencing study is completed.
