UK – E.coli O157 outbreak with 161 ill in the UK is over but the source not found

Health watchdogs say they believe an outbreak of E-coli – first detected in Bristol – is now over.

The rare strain of E.coli 0157 affected scores of people across Bristol, including children.

A total of 161 people across the UK have been affected by the bug, with the majority of cases beginning in either Bristol or Bath.

There have been 154 cases of the strain of E.coli identified in England, six in Wales and one in Scotland.

Investigations have now revealed the likely cause of the outbreak was imported mixed salad leaves.

The last recorded case of the bug was on July 5 and now PHE has declared the outbreak as over.

Investigations were undertaken by PHE’s epidemiological and microbiological staff working with the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and local authority environmental health staff.

Epidemiological investigations identified mixed salad leaves as the likely cause of the outbreak.

Professor Jeremy Hawker, incident director at PHE, said: “We are pleased to confirm there have been no new primary cases identified.

“This is a very strong indication that the outbreak is over.

“We continue to work closely with the FSA to confirm the source of this outbreak and to take all the appropriate measures to protect the public.”