Salmonella superbug hits 170 in three weeks

A surge in cases of a serious form of salmonella food poisoning, which has caused one death and affected scores of people across the country, is being investigated by public health specialists.

A surge in cases of a serious form of salmonella food poisoning, which has caused one death and affected scores of people across the country, is being investigated by public health specialists.

In the first three weeks of August, experts identified 170 cases of Salmonella typhimurium DT104, which is resistant to treatment with antibiotics, double the number in the same period last year. Cases are concentrated in the West Midlands, where 56 patients are affected, but they have occurred throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Public Health Laboratory Service is interviewing patients to establish if there is a common link between the cases. Most infections cause no more than a bad case of diarrhoea but complications can develop. One patient has died after developing septicaemia (blood poisoning).

Salmonella is transmitted from hand to mouth. The best way to avoid the infection is to wash hands after touching raw meat or sitting down to eat, to keep raw and cooked foods apart and to ensure that food is cooked thoroughly before being eaten.