37 in hospital after mystery E.coli súrge

Hunt to find food blamed for outbreak

- MARTIN BAGOT

AT least 37 people have been hospitalised by a national E.coli outbreak caused by a mystery food item.

The UK Health Security Agency said testing shows most of the 113 cases reported in the past fortnight are part of a single outbreak.

Investigators are trying to establish which food item is responsible so it can be removed from shops.

UKHSA said: "Based on the wide geographic spread of cases, it is most likely that this outbreak is linked to a nationally distributed food item or multiple food items."