E Coli :: New E Coli case confirmed linked to the Paisley investigation

There has been one newly confirmed case of E coli O157 infection linked to the Paisley investigation.

The 81 year-old woman, who is stable and being treated at Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley, consumed cold cooked meats purchased from the delicatessen counter of one of the two Morrisons stores involved.

This is the only new confirmed case linked to the outbreak since Tuesday 14th August 2007 and takes the total number of confirmed cases to nine.

Dr Syed Ahmed, Chair of the Outbreak Control Team, said: ?This latest case dates back to the consumption of cold cooked meat from one of the two deli counters involved prior to action being taken by Morrisons to halt the distribution of deli meat from these two stores.?

And he stressed: ?From a public health point of view it is encouraging that all confirmed cases so far consumed deli meat before the outbreak was identified on Monday 13th August.?

A 72 year-old man is serious but stable at the Victoria Infirmary and a 70 year-old Paisley woman remains stable in hospital in the Republic of Ireland.

A 71 year-old woman being treated at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley has been cleared for discharge although due to family circumstances she will not leave the hospital until Monday.

The other four individuals affected continue to recover well at home.

As part of their detailed investigations the Outbreak Control Team are investigating a number of confirmed E coli O157 cases in Scotland and England to establish if there is a link to the Paisley outbreak. So far none of these cases have been linked to the outbreak.

Work to identify the source of the outbreak continues to be a top priority and Public Health Officials together with Environmental Health Officers will continue to investigate all possible lines of enquiry over the weekend.

Dr Ahmed added: ?While there is still no conclusive evidence, we believe that cold cooked meats from Morrison?s Lonend and Falside Road branches are still the most likely vehicles of infection and no other food, from Morrison?s or elsewhere, has been implicated so far.?

Anyone who has consumed sliced cold meats through either of the deli?s, customer cafes or the purchase of ham sandwiches from the Lonend branch up until the point when Morrisons agreed to cease selling cold meats from the two deli counters and who is experiencing symptoms including stomach cramps, diarrhoea (often bloody), nausea and fever should contact a GP or NHS 24 (08454 242424).

A further update from the Outbreak Control Team will be issued early Saturday (18 August) afternoon.


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