A NEW lethal strain of the
E-coli bacterium from continental Europe could pose a serious public health threat to Britain, experts have warned.
Scientists have been alerted to the danger from Escherichia coli 026 as a result of a recent outbreak in Scotland where the incidence of E-coli infections is higher than anywhere else in the UK.
Findings of a study looking at cattle infection north of the border have also raised fears about the killer bacterium.
It is said to be as dangerous as the 0157 version of E-coli which killed 21 people almost seven years ago after they ate meat sold by a butcher's shop in Wishaw, Lanarkshire.
The UK's worst 0157 outbreak led to a report containing 32 safety recommendations and an E-coli taskforce being established by the Scottish Executive.
A problem with Escherichia coli 026 is it can slip through the standard test used to pick out 0157 from other bacteria and might be allowed to spread unseen.
Mark Stevens, from the Institute for Animal Health in Compton, Berkshire, warned 026 appeared to be more prevalent in the UK than previously thought. ''The likelihood is that these bugs are going to enter the human food chain more often in the future,'' he said.
Like other E-coli strains, 026 makes its home in the gut of cattle. It can spread to humans via faecal contamination of meat at slaughterhouses.
Dr Stevens, who has developed a cattle vaccine against
E-coli, will present new findings at a meeting of the Society for General Microbiology in Manchester today.
He said this year four people from Scotland were found to have been infected by E-coli 026 while a fifth had acquired a rarer strain called 0113.
Fears for the nation's public health over Escherichia coli 026 come as the number of victims in Scotland of a salmon-ella bareilly has reached 21.
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