Woman Dies From E-Coli Poisoning In Paisley

An elderly woman died yesterday and two other people are seriously ill from E-coli poisoning in cases linked to eating cold meat.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said early today that four other people, who are also believed to have contracted the E-coli 0157 infection from meat bought at Morrisons stores, are recovering at home.

It is believed the seven people affected by the outbreak in the Paisley area are not blood relations and are being treated as separate cases.

The outbreak came to light earlier yesterday but details were not made public until 12.40am today.

“Our thoughts and sympathies are with the family of the woman who has died,” said the health agency said in a statement.

An investigation has been launched involving the Public Health Protection Unit, the Food Standards Agency, Health Protection Scotland and environmental health officers from Renfrewshire Council to identify the source of the infection.

But initial inquiries have revealed that the cases may be linked to the consumption of sliced cold meats bought locally from the delicatessen counters of two Morrisons supermarkets in Paisley, in Lonend and Falside Road.

The agency could not say which specific meats were affected, but said it was not confined to one product.

It was not clear whether the cases would result in a full-scale UK-wide alert into the safety of cold meats in other Morrisons stores.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said that as a precautionary measure sliced cold meats have been withdrawn from the two Paisley stores only.

The agency advised anyone who had bought sliced cold meat from the stores not to eat them.

“There is no evidence to suggest that pre-packed cooked meats purchased from the stores or other food purchased from the delicatessen counters are implicated,” said an NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde spokeswoman.

Anyone who had consumed sliced cold meats purchased from the delicatessen counters at either of the stores in the past couple of weeks and who was experiencing symptoms including stomach cramps, diarrhoea – often bloody- nausea and fever were advised last night by the agency to contact a GP or NHS 24 in the first instance.

The trust were unable to say exactly when the cases came to light yesterday and said that the public alert was sounded as soon as was possible.

“As we are investigating this at the moment, the link is to the two Paisley stores only at the moment,” said the spokeswoman.

The new cases have come as investigations are continuing into what is causing soaring levels of E-coli poisoning.

The number of people infected with E-coli 0157 rose by 42% last year, according to official figures.

Experts have been reviewing Scotland’s strategy for preventing people contracting the germ.

Thirteen people fell ill and five children needed hospital treatment in an outbreak linked to a Fife nursery last year.

Two children who attended the same Wishaw nursery were also treated for the infection in the summer and a two-year-old girl from South Ayrshire died in July, last year after contracting the bug.

Across Scotland there was a total of 244 confirmed cases of E-coli 0157 infection – the highest number since 1999.