New 'Supermarket E.coli' cases in UK confirmed
Pastor Dale Morgan
New 'Supermarket E.coli' cases in UK confirmed*
By Kate Devlin
Last Updated: 6:36pm BST 14/08/2007
Health officials have confirmed a new case of E.coli in an outbreak that
has already killed one woman and left two others seriously ill in hospital.
A Paisley woman has been hospitalised after eating cooked meat she
bought from a supermarket in Paisley linked to the other cases.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde today said the woman, who is from Paisley,
needed hospital treatment after falling ill while on holiday in the
Republic of Ireland.
A total of eight people have now contracted E.coli 0157, the most
serious form of the infection, in Paisley, outside Glasgow.
Health officials said today that early inquiries suggested that the
outbreak could have come from meat bought at two supermarkets belonging
to the Morrisons chain in the town.
Members of the public have been warned not to eat sliced cold meat
purchased from the stores over the past few weeks and to contact their
doctor if they feel ill.
The first outbreaks of the infection, involving two separate families,
were identified last Friday.
Early on Monday morning, one of the first affected, a 66-year-old
disabled woman, died at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley.
Her 72-year-old husband and a 71-year-old women were this afternoon
still seriously ill in the hospital.
The outbreak is thought to have affected two unrelated families and
another two individuals.
Dr Syed Ahmed, head of the outbreak control team at NHS Greater Glasgow
and Clyde (NHSGG), said: "While there is no conclusive evidence yet,
initial investigations have indicated that there may possibly be a link
to the consumption of some sliced cold meats bought locally from the
delicatessen counters of two Morrisons supermarkets in Paisley."
Symptoms of E.coli 0157 poisoning, which can prove deadly in the elderly
and those with lowered immune systems, include stomach cramps,
diarrhoea, nausea and fever.
Professor Hugh Pennington, from Aberdeen university, said there was a
history of the infection being passed through ready-to-eat meats.
"E.coli 1057 is present in the stomachs of cattle and sheep, but it is
killed when meat is cooked," he said.
"However, in the past there have been outbreaks caused by cross
contamination, where the infection passes from raw meat to ready cooked
meats which are then taken home and eaten."
Morrisons said in a statement that it was working closely with the
authorities but had as a precautionary measure withdrawn sliced cold
meat products from sale at the delicatessen counters of two stores in
Paisley.
No other stores or products are thought to be involved in the
investigation.