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Outbreak is new form of E. coli
2011-06-02 16:26:59
2 June 2011 Last updated at 17:13 Share this page Delicious Digg Facebook reddit StumbleUpon Twitter Email Print Outbreak is new form of E. coli By James Gallagher Health reporter, BBC News
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//Dr Dilys Morgan from the Health Protection Agency says the E. coli outbreak is 'alarming'
"It mainly affects young children and older adults, but what we've seen is predominantly young females getting this condition.
"It's a very rare organism that's causing this and it's thought it has particular properties where the toxin it produces is particularly virulent and therefore is affecting this population more than we would normally expect."
Professor Hugh Pennington, a microbiologist from the University of Aberdeen, said: "This outbreak is unusual in that it doesn't seem to be targeting young children.
"Children under five have had a very hard time with this kind of bug in the past, they seem to be escaping it, maybe just due to the nature of the food that's causing the problem."