At least 37 people have been admitted to hospital in an E. coli outbreak believed to be linked to food, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). Whole genome sequencing of samples indicates most of the 113 cases reported across the UK between May 25 and June 4 are part of a single outbreak, the UKHSA said.
Owing to the "wide geographic spread of cases", the agency believes the outbreak - which has mostly affected young adults - is linked to a nationally distributed food item or multiple food items. The UKHSA said it is working with public health agencies in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland to determine the cause of people's illness. All the cases recorded in the outbreak involve Shiga toxin-producing E.
coli O145 (Stec), with 81 cases in England, 18 in Wales, 13 in Scotland and one person in Northern Ireland who believes they fell ill in England. Those affected range in age from two to 79, with the majority of cases in young adults, and numbers are expected to rise. Of the 81 people identified so far in England, 61 have provided information to the UKHSA related to food, travel and potential exposures.
Of these 61 people, some 37 have been admitted to hospital, the UKHSA said, though expectations are the true figure across all cases is likely to be higher. E. coli are a diverse group of bacteria that are normally harmless and live in the intestines of humans and animals.
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