E-coli: Source of outbreak believed to have been found
An E.coli outbreak that has made more than 200 people sick has been traced to lettuce – so is it safe to eat?
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) told Sky News it is “too early to determine” how the lettuce leaves may have become contaminated – but it is “confident” that is the source.
Three companies have recalled dozens of sandwiches and wraps sold at supermarkets as a precautionary measure.
So how can lettuce end up carrying E.coli – and does this mean a summer without salad?
How could it happen?
There are three main ways lettuce leaves could have been contaminated with E.coli, according to Professor Jim Monaghan, professor of crop science at Harper Adams University in Shropshire.
E.coli “essentially wants to be inside the guts of warm-blooded animals”, he says, but pathogenic strains can be found in between 10-15% of dairy herds – which means a minority of manure is contaminated with it.
That manure – and the E.coli it carries – can end up on lettuce leaves in cases of direct contamination.
In cases of indirect contamination, the bacteria may get into the soil or water and be transferred to the lettuce that way.
How do farmers prevent contamination?
If farmers use manure to fertilise a field, they have to wait at least a year before they can plant lettuce there.
They must also test the water they are using for irrigation to see if E.coli is present.
“For a lettuce grower, if you’re irrigating a crop with water, if you’re not comfortable drinking that water, then you wouldn’t be irrigating the crop,” Prof Monaghan tells Sky News.
That doesn’t mean they need to irrigate with chlorine-treated tap water, he adds, but it must meet an “acceptable standard”.
Salad growers will also risk assess their sites and avoid planting salad in any areas prone to flooding to avoid potential water contamination.
The FSA has not revealed whether the lettuce came from a UK-based farm or was imported from abroad.
The latest figures show 211 cases of E-coli have been confirmed as of 11 June – and at least 67 people have required hospital treatment.
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How does E.coli spread?
Should you be worried about eating lettuce?
Prof Monaghan says he hasn’t changed his lettuce-buying habits in response to the recent outbreak.
“I have a bag of spinach and two whole head lettuces in my fridge at the moment. So knowing what I know about how UK growers manage their risks, to me that’s fine,” he says.
“But clearly something’s gone wrong.”
However, he notes a couple of things – beyond the usual rules growers must follow – that have reassured him about buying salad.
“One is it would appear that the product that’s caused a problem has left the supply chain,” he says.
The second is that everyone involved in salad production – from growers to salad and sandwich manufacturers – will be “sampling like crazy”.
Does washing salad leaves get rid of E.coli?
Once it reaches the factory, lettuce will be rinsed to remove surface contamination. Then chlorine is used to reduce the level of bacteria before it is rinsed again.
That is “effective to a certain extent”, Prof Monaghan says, but it does not eliminate bacteria entirely.
The same goes for washing lettuce at home – it will reduce the amount of bacteria, but not get rid of it.
Read more:
What are the symptoms of E.coli infection?
Full list of products recalled by sandwich suppliers
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How does the weather have an impact?
The recent wet weather could have created conditions where E.coli can more easily survive.
On a hot, sunny day, leaves will dry off quickly, reducing the chance of water contamination.
They will also be irradiated by UV rays, killing bacteria.
But on wet, overcast days, there is not the same opportunity for bacteria to be killed off, Prof Monaghan says.
We have had a damp start to the summer – and similar weather has been seen in Spain, Italy and France – all countries that import lettuce to the UK.
Why is it so difficult to trace the root cause?
Darren Whitby, head of incidents at the FSA, said identifying the source of the E.coli was a “complex and ongoing investigation”.
Part of the reason it’s so difficult to trace is because the contaminated products are a very small proportion of the sandwiches on supermarket shelves, Prof Monaghan says.
Then there’s the fact the products in question have a shelf life of days.
“Two days after a sandwich is made, you won’t find that sandwich again,” Prof Monaghan says.
“It’s either been eaten or it’s been taken off the shelf.”
The FSA has been investigating the issue along with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), Food Standards Scotland and devolved public health agencies, businesses and local authorities.
Through epidemiological investigations and whole genome sequence analysis, they narrowed down the common foods consumed by people who had fallen ill to a small number of salad leaf products used in sandwiches, wraps, subs and rolls.
Dozens of products were recalled; while no E.coli had been found in them, it was a “precautionary measure” in case they were contaminated.
The fact E.coli was not found in the products indicates it has left the supply chain. “There’s no smoking gun,” Prof Monaghan says.
UK
Zhenhao Zou: More than 20 new potential victims come forward after ‘prolific’ rapist jailed for assaulting 10 women
Another 23 female potential victims have reported that they may have been raped by Zhenhao Zou – the Chinese PhD student detectives believe may be one of the country’s most prolific sex offenders.
The Metropolitan Police launched an international appeal after Zou, 28, was convicted of drugging and raping 10 women following a trial at the Inner London Crown Court last month.
Detectives have not confirmed whether the 23 people who have come forward add to their estimates that more than 50 other women worldwide may have been targeted by the University College London student.
Metropolitan Police commander Kevin Southworth said: “We have victims reaching out to us from different parts of the globe.
“At the moment, the primary places where we believe offending may have occurred at this time appears to be both in England, here in London, and over in China.”
Metropolitan Police commander Kevin Southworth
Zou lived in a student flat in Woburn Place, near Russell Square in central London, and later in a flat in the Uncle building in Churchyard Row in Elephant and Castle, south London.
Read more: How a student described as ‘smart and charming’ was unmasked as a prolific sexual predator
He had also been a student at Queen’s University Belfast, where he studied mechanical engineering from 2017 until 2019. Police say they have not had any reports from Belfast but added they were “open-minded about that”.
“Given how active and prolific Zou appears to have been with his awful offending, there is every prospect that he could have offended anywhere in the world,” Mr Southworth said.
“We wouldn’t want anyone to write off the fact they may have been a victim of his behaviour simply by virtue of the fact that you are from a certain place.
“The bottom line is, if you think you may have been affected by Zhenhao Zou or someone you know may have been, please don’t hold back. Please make contact with us.”
Pic: Met Police
Zou used hidden or handheld cameras to record his attacks, and kept the footage and often the women’s belongings as souvenirs.
He targeted young, Chinese women, inviting them to his flat for drinks or to study, before drugging and assaulting them.
Zou was convicted of 11 counts of rape, with two of the offences relating to one victim, as well as three counts of voyeurism, 10 counts of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one count of false imprisonment and three counts of possession of a controlled drug with intent to commit a sexual offence, namely butanediol.
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Moment police arrest rapist student
Mr Southworth said: “Of those 10 victims, several were not identified so as we could be sure exactly where in the world they were, but their cases, nevertheless, were sufficient to see convictions at court.
“There were also, at the time, 50 videos that were identified of further potential female victims of Zhenhao Zou’s awful crimes.
“We are still working to identify all of those women in those videos.
“We have now, thankfully, had 23 victim survivors come forward through the appeal that we’ve conducted, some of whom may be identical with some of the females that we saw in those videos, some of whom may even turn out to be from the original indicted cases.”
Mr Southworth added: “Ultimately, now it’s the investigation team’s job to professionally pick our way through those individual pieces of evidence, those individual victims’ stories, to see if we can identify who may have been a victim, when and where, so then we can bring Zou to justice for the full extent of his crimes.”
Mr Southworth said more resources will be put into the investigation, and that detectives are looking to understand “what may have happened without wishing to revisit the trauma, but in a way that enables [the potential victims] to give evidence in the best possible way.”
The Metropolitan Police is appealing to anyone who thinks they may have been targeted by Zou to contact the force either by emailing survivors@met.police.uk, or via the major incident public portal on the force’s website.
An 11-year-old girl who went missing after entering the River Thames has been named as Kaliyah Coa.
An “extensive search” has been carried out after the incident in east London at around 1.30pm on Monday.
Police said the child had been playing during a school inset day and entered the water near Barge House Causeway, North Woolwich.
A recovery mission is now said to be under way to find Kaliyah along the Thames, with the Metropolitan Police carrying out an extensive examination of the area.
Barge House Causeway is a concrete slope in North Woolwich leading into the Thames
Chief Superintendent Dan Card thanked members of the public and emergency teams who responded to “carry out a large-scale search during a highly pressurised and distressing time”.
He also confirmed drone technology and boats were being used to “conduct a thorough search over a wide area”.
He added: “Our specialist officers are supporting Kaliyah’s family through this deeply upsetting time and our thoughts go out to all those impacted by what has happened.”
“Equally we appreciate this has affected the wider community who have been extremely supportive. You will see extra officers in the area during the coming days.”
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On Monday, Kerry Benadjaoud, a 62-year-old resident from the area, said she heard of the incident from her next-door neighbour, who “was outside doing her garden and there was two little kids running, and they said ‘my friend’s in the water'”.
When she arrived at the scene with a life ring, a man told her he had called the police, “but he said at the time he could see her hands going down”.
Barge House Causeway is a concrete slope that goes directly into the River Thames and is used to transport boats.
Residents pointed out that it appeared to be covered in moss and was slippery.
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