Lettuce leaf E.coli outbreak kills one

Death likely to be linked to infection, say experts

- Jane Kirby

ONE person has died in the E.coli outbreak believed to be spread through lettuce.

The UK Health Security Agency said two people died in May within 28 days of developing shiga toxin-producing E.coli, and "one of these deaths is likely linked to their Stec infection".

As of Tuesday, there were 19 Stec cases, bringing the total number of UK confirmed incidents to 275.

A number of food manufacturers have taken sandwiches, wraps and salads off the shelves of supermarkets and retail chains over fears they were linked to the outbreak.

E.coli, a diverse group of bacteria living in human and animal intestines, are normally harmless. But some strains, like Stec, produce toxins that can make people very ill.

Complex

The UKHSA said it was seeing a decline in cases, but warned more would emerge as more samples were referred from NHS labs.