Published Date: 2011-08-16 12:43:49
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> E. coli O157 - UK: (Wales) kebabs
Archive Number: 20110816.2479

E. COLI O157 - UK: (WALES) KEBABS
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A ProMED-mail post
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ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org

Date: Sat 13 Aug 2011
Source: Wales Online [edited]
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2011/08/13/wales-e-coli-outbreak-two-more-cases-confirmed-as-number-of-victims-rises-to-seven-91466-29229972/


The number of _E. coli_ cases in a bacterial outbreak in South Wales
has risen to 7 after 2 more cases were confirmed by Public Health
Wales. Of those cases, 3 are said to have been hospitalized and are in
a stable condition it was confirmed. 2 further cases are also under
investigation.

Meanwhile the Adonis Kebab House on City Road, Cardiff, remains closed
as a "precautionary measure" after the outbreak of the deadly disease.
Dr Gwen Lowe, Chair of the Multi-agency Outbreak Control Team, said
environmental health officers from Cardiff, the Vale of Glamorgan, and
Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council continued to investigate the
outbreak of the O157 strain.

Dr Lowe said he expected to see the number of reported cases increase
over the next few days. "The incubation period for _E. coli_ O157 can
range from 1 to 14 days, but is characteristically 3 to 4 days," he
said. "We would therefore expect to continue to see more cases
throughout this period, even after the source of the illness has been
identified and removed. The length of the illness can vary but people
are usually ill for up to 2 weeks."

[Byline: Simon Gaskell]

--
Communicated by:
HealthMap Alerts via ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>

[It is not stated in this post if any food from the kebab house has
been found to harbor the outbreak strain. Undercooked ground beef is
the classical vehicle for the Vero toxin producing _E. coli_ O157:H7
and may be the source here. Other foods that are eaten uncooked,
however, are increasingly found to be involved in transmission of this
group of pathogens. These include sprouts, which were the source of
the largest number of fatalities in an outbreak of _E. coli_ that
began in May 2011, caused by the chimeric organism _E. coli_ O104:H4,
which contained pathogenic features of the enterohemorrhagic and
enteroaggregative pathotypes of _E. coli_. - Mod.LL]

[Cardiff can be located on the HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map
at http://healthmap.org/r/18AM. - Sr.Tech.Ed.MJ]

See Also

2010
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E. coli O157 - UK: (England) day care 20100209.0442
2009
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E. coli O157 - UK (07): ex Spain (VC) alert, RFI 20091130.4092
E. coli O157 - UK (04): England, children's farm 20090913.3224
E. coli O157 - UK (03): Wales dance camp 20090823.2969
E. coli O157 - UK (02): Wales, HUS cluster 20090817.2916
E. coli O157 - UK: Wales dance camp, alert 20090817.2915
2007
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E. coli O157, tourist area - Ireland (Sligo) 20070829.2841
E. coli O157 - UK (Scotland): sliced meat susp. (04) 20070824.2785
E. coli O157 - UK (Scotland): sliced meat susp 20070814.2655
E. coli O157 - UK (Scotland) ex Turkey: alert 20070813.2644
E. coli O157, prepackaged food - UK (England) (02) 20070722.2351
E. coli O157, prepackaged food - UK (England) 20070721.2348
.................................................sb/ll/mj/mpp