The number of potentially-lethal blood infections caused by E. Coli in Devon has increased more than the national average in one year.
Across Devon there were 918 cases of E. Coli infecting the blood stream – called bacteraemia – in 2016/17.
That was a 10% increase on the 836 cases recorded the year before.
Bacteraemia is a serious infection that occurs when bacteria get into the bloodstream. It may lead to sepsis and can be fatal.
E. Coli is a blanket name given to several species of bacteria – in the same way that humans all belong to the same species but are not identical to each other.
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