E. coli outbreak linked to tainted salad claims a life, health chiefs confirm

One person is suspected of dying from the E. coli outbreak linked to tainted salad leaves, health officials have said.

No details have been released on the age or location of the victim with health chiefs only stating they had an underlying medical condition and that they died last month.

The update, from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), also reported that as of 25 June a further 19 cases infection of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) have been confirmed.

This takes the total number of cases to 275, with about half of known cases needed to hospital care as a result of their infection.

Food safety chiefs have said they are 'confident' an Apollo type lettuce has caused the outbreak of the diarrhoea-causing bug. Efforts to confirm the root cause, however, are ongoing

Over 60 sandwiches, wraps and salads sold in 11 major shops were slapped with 'do not eat' alerts over fears they could contain Shiga toxin-producing E.coli (STEC) earlier this month

The infection hospitalised 122 and to date seven cases of the severe haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS), a medical emergency linked to STEC which can lead to kidney failure and death.

Another death among STEC patients was also recorded by health officials but they said, based on medical data, this isn't believed to have been caused by the infection.

UKHSA said that although the rate of new STEC cases are declining they expect more cases in the coming days as further samples from suspected patients are analysed.

The E. coli outbreak is believed to be linked to tainted lettuce leaves and earlier this month more than 60 sandwiches, wraps and salads sold in 11 major shops were been slapped with 'do not eat' alerts as a result.

Darren Whitby, head of incidents at the Food Security Agency which assisting UKHSA in the E. coli investigation, said while lettuce is still the prime suspect, investigations were ongoing.

'Although we are confident in the likely source of the outbreak being linked to lettuce, work continues to confirm this and identify the root cause of the outbreak with the growers, suppliers and manufacturers so that actions can be taken to prevent a re-occurrence,' he said.

Experts believe the texture of lettuce makes it more prone to being contaminated with E. coli though tainted water and the fact it's not cooked, which would usually kill off bugs, increases the risk.