According to Public Health England (PHE), a breakdown of the cases includes 144 in England, 6 in Wales and 1 in Scotland, with the South West of England particularly affected. Of those people sickened, 64 required hospitalization and two people have died.
While a definite culprit in this outbreak has yet to be positively identified, PHE reports that several people sickened in the outbreak said they had eaten mixed salad greens, including rockets before they became ill.
@NicolaJHolden shows that higher than infectious dose of EHEC can become internalised in leaves #sfamsc16 cause of July 7, 2016
Testing of samples from people who had become ill identified the E. coli O157 as having likely been imported from the Mediterranean, says the Guardian.
PHE says it is also advising a “small number of wholesalers” to stop adding imported rocket leaves to their salad greens mixes as a precautionary measure.
PHE is using a number of technologies, reports the Daily Mail, including whole genome sequencing (WGS) to test samples as they search for the source of the outbreak. WGS is only the latest in an array of procedures that can aid in the detection of food-borne pathogens.
The PHE is also working closely with the Food Standards Agency to trace, sample, and test salad products grown in the UK and in other parts of Europe. All food samples tested thus far have been negative for E. coli O157, but the PHE cautions us that where food has been contaminated with a pathogen, it is not always possible to identify the bacteria on food testing.
