Millions on E.coli alert

Four other people are recovering at home as a result of the infection involving retail giant Morrisons and a new case was confirmed as an elderly woman on holiday in Ireland ended up in hospital.

Public health specialists were yesterday desperately trying to narrow down the cause of the outbreak which was described as being in its “very early days”.

But it is understood around 80 different kinds of cold meats from around 12 different firms supplying Morrisons 435 UK stores, are under suspicion.

Sliced cold meats have been withdrawn from sale at the two Morrisons stores in Scotland where the victims shopped and customers have been told not to eat any that have been bought there.

The 66-year-old disabled woman died on Monday morning at the Royal Alexandra Hospital (RAH) in Paisley, while her 72-year-old husband is being treated in the Victoria Infirmary in nearby Glasgow.

Another family, comprising a woman aged 45, a man aged 46 and their 23-year-old daughter, are recovering at home.

The other cases are an 86-year-old woman, who is also recovering at home, and a 71-year-old woman being treated at the RAH.

All the victims are from the Paisley area, including a 70-year-old woman who is now in hospital after complaining of feeling unwell while on holiday in the Republic of Ireland.

Anyone who has eaten delicatessen meat from the stores involved within the past few weeks and is suffering symptoms from e.coli 0157 poisoning, including stomach cramps, diarrhoea, nausea and fever, are being advised to seek medical advice.

E.coli O157 can cause serious illness and is usually spread through contaminated food or drink.

The world’s worst recorded instance of e.coli poisoning happened in Scotland in 1996 when the O157 strain of the bug killed 21 elderly people in Wishaw, Lanarkshire.

The contaminated meat was later traced to butcher John Barr’s shop in the same town.

Leading microbiologist Professor Hugh Pennington said investigators would be trying to trace where the original meat came from.

He said: “The bug has a history of being associated with ready-to-eat meats.

“Almost certainly what happens in the past is that there has been some circumstantial contamination between the raw meat and the ready-to-eat foods.

“I am sure the investigators will be looking at where this meat came from.”

Yesterday Dr Sayed Ahmed, a consultant in public health and leader of the Greater Glasgow Outbreak Control Team said that because of the bug’s incubation period, the outbreak was in its “very early stages”.

He said:”Efforts to identify a source of the infection continue to be a key priority of the Outbreak Control Team.

Environmental Health Officers have been carrying out investigations in both the Morrisons branches. They have already taken extensive samples and swabs from both sites and these are now with the appropriate labs for a series of complex analytical tests.

“In addition the lines of the food chain supply are being thoroughly investigated.”

Mr Ahmed, who dealt with the aftermath of the deadly 1996 outbreak, added: “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.“Morrisons have been cooperating fully with these investigations and have offered their full assistance.”

“While there is still no conclusive evidence, we believe that cold cooked meats from these two Morrison’s stores are still the most likely vehicles of infection and no other food, from Morrison’s or elsewhere, has been implicated so far.”

And Andrew Jamieson, Chief Environmental Health Officer for Renfrewshire Council, which covers the Paisley area, said around 80 different kinds of cold meat from 12 different suppliers sold by the supermarket chain are under suspicion.

He 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.”

Morrisons said it was “deeply saddened” to hear of the death and other cases, and that cold meats had been withdrawn from the deli counters at the two stores.

The supermarket giant, the UK’s fourth largest, said no other stores or products were involved in the investigation and the company was working closely with the relevant agencies.