Salmonella outbreak in UK leaves one dead, hundreds ill, says UKHSA

Amid the Salmonella outbreak that has claimed one life and left hundreds ill, UK health officials are scrambling to bring it under control.

The UK Health and Security Agency officials believe the outbreak is linked to eating food made with imported eggs.

The UKHSA has initiated an investigation into the 207 cases recorded over the past year, the most surfacing in recent weeks.

The UK’s premium health agency issued an update on Tuesday, August 18, and said the salmonella outbreak “may be linked to eggs imported” from outside Britain.

Over the past year, since August 11, the salmonella outbreak has affected 199 cases in England, six in Scotland, one in Wales and one in Northern Ireland.

As of now, more than one in three of those affected were hospitalised, while two cases involved life-threatening sepsis, the agency added.

The affected patients range from infants to those as old as 90.

Hannah Charles, lead epidemiologist for gastrointestinal infections at UKHSA, said,

“We’re working with Food Standards Agency and other public health agencies to investigate a salmonella outbreak that may be linked to eggs imported from outside of the UK.”

The UKHSA says extensive epidemiological and food chain investigations are ongoing to ascertain the source, but eggs are still the most probable source identified so far.

“At this time there is no identified link to UK-produced eggs or poultry,” added the agency.

However, the agency hinted that the outbreak could potentially be linked to a previous surge of cases in 2025.