Confirmed cases rise again to 288 in STEC O145 outbreak (Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli) from what is thought to have been caused from salad leaves (lettuce) in sandwiches and wraps.

According to The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) they stated in their updated press release of today Friday 5thJuly 2024:

“As of 3 July, there have been a further 13 cases associated with the recent outbreak of STEC O145 since the last update on 27 June. This brings the total number of confirmed cases to 288 in the UK. All currently confirmed cases had symptom onset dates before 10 June. Although case reporting rates are continuing to decline, we expect to see an additional small number of cases linked to this outbreak as further samples are referred to us from NHS laboratories and whole genome sequencing is conducted”.

There are now191 confirmed cases in England, 62 confirmed in Scotland, 31 confirmed in Wales, and 4 confirmed in Northern Ireland where evidence suggests they acquired their infection in England

“Based on information from 263 cases to date, 49% were admitted to hospital” This 49% means at least 128 people have been hospitalised in this outbreak 

Link to today’s press release below.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/e-coli-advice-issued-amid-rise-in-cases

In the UKHSA previous outbreak update published on the 27th June 2024 in the “interim summary report STEC O145 ‘t5.206’ Identified in May 2024” in the link below, it stated that at that time there were 7 cases who developed Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome (HUS) due to this outbreak. (5 HUS cases in England and 2 HUS cases in Scotland with an age range of 12-59 years and the majority (6) were female.

“These HUS cases all reported onset of illness in mid to late May”.

The UKHSA also stated there was one death associated with this outbreak, although they did not develop HUS, but had an underling health condition.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/shiga-toxin-producing-e-coli-outbreak-o145-may-to-june-2024/investigation-into-an-outbreak-of-shiga-toxin-producing-e-coli-stec-o145-in-great-britain-may-to-june-2024

Anyone who has an STEC illness will tell you how unpleasant it can be. If you develop HUS from an STEC it truly is a terrible illness to suffer from. Unfortunately, some who develop HUS may have long term Health issues. 

An article printed in the Metro yesterday on the 4thJuly in the link below, explains what STEC illnesses can be like.

“John Daniels became ill after eating a chicken and bacon Caesar wrap” 

He said: ‘I have never been in so much pain, absolutely excruciating pain”

https://metro.co.uk/2024/07/04/man-feared-might-die-getting-e-coli-a-boots-wrap-21161325/