Europe: Salmonella
outbreak affects 144
Wed Aug 27, 2008 7:09pm BST
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Source of Article: http://uk.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUKLR11367520080827
LONDON (Reuters) - A salmonella outbreak linked to
contaminated meat has caused at least 144 cases of the food-borne disease,
mainly in Britain and Ireland,
European health officials said on Wednesday.
The European Centre for Disease Control and
Prevention said the suspected meat products had been withdrawn from sale
but that the outbreak had probably also infected two people each in Finland and France
and two in Sweden.
The Stockholm-based agency said its scientists
working on the outbreak believe all the cases are linked to a single food
processing facility in Ireland.
Salmonella poisoning, which causes diarrhoea, fever and abdominal cramps, is very common.
Symptoms often clear up without treatment but the bacteria can be dangerous
for the young and elderly whose immune systems are not working properly.
(Reporting by Michael Kahn; editing by Richard
Williams)
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