One person is suspected to have died from an E. coli outbreak linked to contaminated salad leaves, health officials said.
No details about the victim’s age or location have been released and health chiefs have only stated that he had an underlying medical condition and died last month.
The update, from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), also reported that a further 19 cases of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) infection have been confirmed as of June 25.
This brings the total number of cases to 275, with approximately half of the known cases requiring hospital care as a result of their infection.
Food safety officials have said they are “confident” that an Apollo lettuce has caused the outbreak of the virus that causes diarrhea. However, efforts are being made to confirm the root cause.
More than 60 sandwiches, wraps and salads sold at 11 major stores received “do not eat” alerts over fears they might contain Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) earlier this month.
The infection hospitalized 122 and to date seven cases of severe hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a STEC-related medical emergency that can lead to kidney failure and death.
Health officials also recorded another death among STEC patients, but said that based on medical data, it is not believed to have been caused by the infection.
UKHSA said that although the rate of new STEC cases is decreasing, they expect more cases in the coming days as more samples from suspected patients are tested.
The E. coli outbreak is believed to be linked to contaminated lettuce leaves and earlier this month more than 60 sandwiches, wraps and salads sold at 11 major stores were As a result, I was issued “do not eat” alerts.
Darren Whitby, incident manager at the Food Safety Agency who assisted UKHSA in the E. coli investigation, said that while lettuce remains the main suspect, investigations are ongoing.
“While we are confident that the likely source of the outbreak is related to lettuce, work continues to confirm this and identify the root cause of the outbreak with growers, suppliers and manufacturers so that steps can be taken to prevent a recurrence.” ‘ he said.
Experts believe the texture of lettuce makes it more likely to be contaminated with E. coli through contaminated water and the fact that it is not cooked, which would normally kill the insects, increases the risk.