Patients warned of E.coli cases

E.coli can cause kidney failure and death in extreme cases

NHS Tayside has written to almost 90 people after it was discovered their fellow patients at Ninewells Hospital had the potentially deadly E.coli 0157.

The infection was found in a small group in wards five and nine, who became ill last month.

They did not become infected at the hospital and doctors have said this is a precautionary measure.

People who were in the affected wards should look out for diarrhoea, fever, sickness, vomiting and stomach pains.

A small number of people may develop kidney failure, anaemia and bleeding.

Complications are most common in children under five and the elderly.

Contaminated water

If a former patient has the infection the symptoms should have shown within 14 days of leaving the wards.

Usually they take three to four days to develop and can last a number of weeks.

The source of the outbreak is not known and the patients are not thought to be related.

People usually become infected by eating contaminated food, having contact with animals at farms or zoos or drinking or swimming in contaminated water.

It can be passed from someone who is infected through poor hand washing after going to the toilet or before preparing food.

By taking some simple steps people can help reduce the risk of catching the infection Dr Christopher McGuigan NHS Tayside

Dr Christopher McGuigan, consultant in Public Health Medicine, said: "If you receive a letter, please do not worry. While E.coli O157 can cause a serious infection, we believe the risk of you catching it is very small.

"We are writing to former patients and staff with advice on E.coli O157 infection and we are offering screening for it as a precautionary measure. E.coli O157 can spread easily.

"By taking some simple steps people can help reduce the risk of catching the infection."

Professor Stewart Forsyth, medical director of NHS Tayside's Delivery Unit, also reassured patients and visitors who are due to come to Ninewells.

He said: "We have written to a number of former patients who have spent time in two wards as a precautionary measure.

"If anyone has experienced stomach cramps, loose bowel movements or diarrhoea, sometimes with blood in it, within 14 days of when they left hospital, they should go to see their own GP."