E-coli outbreak infects 14 people

Fourteen people have been infected with E-coli 0157

Fourteen people have been affected by an outbreak of E.coli in Leeds.

The strain, E.coli 0157, can cause very severe illness although it is not believed that anyone taken to hospital is on the critical list.

Nine of the patients who are ill have been able to tell health officials they ate meat supplied by Todd's Pork and Beef Butchers in Armley.

Dr Martin Schweiger, from the West Yorkshire Health Protection Unit, has described it as a "serious" outbreak.

The Armley company supplies 18 butchers, cafes and delis in the area.

Dr Schweiger said: ""E-coli 0157 has been associated with very severe disease and obviously some of the people who have been ill have been very ill in Leeds.

"The very good news is that certainly nobody has died and at this moment at time, as far as I'm aware, there's no one who's sort of on a critical list but there are certainly some people who're having a very unpleasant time."

People with the bug usually show symptoms between three and eight days after infection, though three-to-four days is more usual.

The Health Protection Agency says young children and the elderly are two of the groups most vulnerable to E-coli infection.