Infected watermelons kill one, left 50 ill.

One person has died and at least 50 more
have fallen ill from salmonella poisoning
which may be linked to watermelons
imported from Brazil.
The outbreak, which began in December, is
believed to involve packs of ready-to-eat
sliced watermelon.
Health chiefs say the public can protect
themselves by washing all types of fruit and
vegetables.
However many are unlikely to wash packs of
ready-to-eat fruit, which have become
enormously popular and are often sold as a
healthy lunchtime snack.
Seventy per cent of the victims are female
and include a six-month-old baby and
pensioners.
The one British fatality was suffering from a
number of other underlying health
problems.
Details of the outbreak – involving the
Salmonella Newport form of the bug – were
revealed by the Health Protection Agency,
which is investigating the source alongside
the Food Standards Agency.
CONFIRMED CASES
• England - 26“• Wales - 3“• Northern
Ireland - 1“• Scotland - 5“• Republic of
Ireland - 5“• Germany – 15
Thirty five of the cases were in the UK, with
26 in England, five in Scotland, three in
Wales and one in Northern Ireland.
The same strain of the bug has been
identified in a further five cases in the
Republic of Ireland and 15 in Germany.
The presence of salmonella was first
identified by HPA scientists carrying out
routine sampling of a range of foods for the
presence of listeria.
The watermelon sampled was imported
from Brazil and between ten and 15 of the
victims reported eating the fruit in the two
to three days before they fell ill.
However the HPA stressed it cannot be
certain the victims ate watermelon from
Brazil and it is too soon to identify the
source.
Brazil is the largest supplier of imported
watermelons sold in the UK accounting for
around 12 per cent of the total, which
equates to around 6,100 tonnes.
Virtually all the major supermarkets import
them from Brazil at this time of year. Last
night Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Waitrose
and the Co-op insisted their watermelons
were not affected.
Dr Bob Adak, head of gastrointestinal
diseases at the HPA, said: ‘Early indications
suggest that a number of people became
unwell after eating watermelon.
‘It’s important to remember the risk of
becoming unwell after eating watermelon is
very low. These cases only represent a very
small proportion of total consumption.
‘It is always advisable to wash fruits and
vegetables – including watermelon – before
consumption to reduce the risk of illness.’