Scottish woman taken ill with e-coli in Ireland

Health officials in the UK today confirmed a new case of e.coli O157 in an outbreak that has claimed the life of one woman and left her husband seriously ill.

A woman fell ill after eating cooked meat she bought from one of two supermarkets in Paisley, Scotland, that have been linked to the other cases.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said the woman, who is from Paisley, needed hospital treatment after falling ill while on holiday in Ireland.

At a press conference this afternoon, officials said they were trying to pinpoint the source of the infection which has so far affected a total of eight people and is thought to involve two Morrisons stores.

The bug is suspected to have been picked up from cold meat counters at the firm’s stores in Falside Road and Lonend.

Earlier health bosses said a disabled 66-year-old woman had died and her husband, 72, was one of those seriously ill in hospital.

A 71-year-old woman is also being treated at the Royal Alexandra hospital in Scotland.

Four other people are recovering at home as a result of the infection.

Health officials identified cold meat as a possible source of the outbreak after interviewing victims who consumed meat bought at the two supermarkets.

The outbreak control team have now launched a wide ranging investigation to try to pinpoint the source of the infection.

Environmental health officers from Renfrewshire Council are investigating the 12 suppliers which supply cold cooked meat to Morrisons to establish whether that is the source.

They have also taken extensive samples and swabs from both the Lonend and Falside Road branches in Paisley which have been sent to labs for complex analytical tests.

They are also interviewing all Morrisons staff who may have had contact with the two delicatessen counters where the meat was bought.

No other foods from Morrisons or elsewhere have been implicated in the outbreak so far.

Andrew Jamieson, lead environmental health officer at Renfrewshire Council, said: “We are looking at the supply chain and we are carrying out interviews about the supply chain.

“We don’t have any definitive proof but we have suspicions.

“The reason for us focusing on the cold cooked meats is these are the products that have come out of the investigation so far.”

Health officials say they do not know whether the outbreak has been contained because E.coli O157 has a long incubation period.

Dr Syed Ahmed, consultant in public health for NHS Greater Glasgow and chair of the outbreak control team, said: “There maybe people out there who have consumed food and it’s in the incubation period.

“For the next 10 days we really cannot say how the outbreak will develop.

“People have symptoms but quite often don’t go to their GP and there is a lead-in period before someone presents with symptoms and has it confirmed."