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Plagues,
Pestilences and Diseases
UK: Salmonella outbreak linked to watermelons
People are being urged to wash fruit and vegetable as salmonella
newport infects 35 people across the UK
James Meikle guardian.co.uk, Thursday 2 February 2012 14.25 GMT
A link between UK cases of salmonella newport and watermelons is
being investigated by the Health Protection Agency. Photograph:
Pictor International/Alamy
Health watchdogs have reminded people to wash fruit and
vegetables, as they investigate whether a salmonella outbreak in
which 35 people in the UK are known to have been infected is
linked to watermelons.
One person has died, although it is understood they had underlying
health complications.
Eastern England has been the area most affected by the outbreak of
salmonella newport, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) said. Those
with the infection ranged from age six months to 85.
Bob Adak, head of the gastrointestinal diseases department at the
HPA, which is investigating 30 cases in England, Wales and
Northern Ireland, said: "Although it's too soon to say with
certainty what the likely cause of infection is, early indications
suggest that a number of people became unwell after eating
watermelon. This has also been noted in the cases in Scotland and
Germany, although further investigation is ongoing.
"It's important to remember that the risk of becoming unwell after
eating watermelon is very low. These cases only represent a very
small proportion of total consumption. It is always advisable to
wash fruits and vegetables – including watermelon – before
consumption to reduce the risk of possible illness."
All of the cases in England, Wales and Northern Ireland were
reported in December. Health Protection Scotland said none of the
five cases there were reported to have needed hospital treatment
and no new cases had been reported since early last month.
Infection with salmonella newport causes a similar illness to
other forms of salmonella, with symptoms including diarrhoea,
vomiting, abdominal pain and fever.
The HPA said it had identified salmonella newport from a
ready-to-eat sliced watermelon imported from Brazil, in a local
food survey in north-west England in November 2011. Subsequently,
a number of people who became unwell were found to be infected
with the same strain identified in the survey.
Ten out of 15 cases followed up by telephone interview reported
eating watermelon in the three days prior to the onset of their
symptoms, although the agency did not know where their fruit had
come from.
An agency spokeswoman said: "Further investigations by the FSA
[Food Standards Agency] are ongoing and as soon as any particular
producer or distributor of infected watermelons has been
identified, steps will be put in place to inform the public and
remove any affected items from the food chain."
There were two possible routes of infection. Either the melon
surface was contaminated and the bug transferred to flesh during
the cutting process or it may have transferred through the cut
stem while the melons were stored or washed in contaminated water.
The FSA ,which is involved in the investigations, said it was
monitoring the situation and working closely with the food
industry, the European commission and other countries. Five cases
have been reported in Ireland and 15 in Germany.
In a normal year, about 200 people in England, Wales and Northern
Ireland are infected with this type of salmonella newport strain.
Last year there was a big outbreak in Germany and the Netherlands
caused by bean sprouts. Germany also experienced a big E coli
outbreak linked to bean sprouts.