One person dies and hundreds ill after salmonella outbreak in the UK

At least one person has died amid an outbreak of salmonella in the UK thought to be tied to imported eggs, food safety officials told Metro.

Since August last year, 207 people have been sickened with salmonella, a bacteria that causes food poisoning.

Cases have swelled in recent weeks and, of them, 199 have been in England, six in Scotland, one in Wales and one in Northern Ireland.

London has seen the highest number of infections at 47, while Yorkshire and the Humber saw 38.

More than a third of those affected – some babies and others as old as 90 – needed hospital care, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said in a report today.

Most people, however, get better without treatment.

What is salmonella?

Salmonella is a bacterium that thrives in the intestine of animals, including chickens, birds and cows.

Livestock don’t seem sick when carrying the bacteria, so it easily winds up in meat, produce or is spread to crop fields and around food processing plants, where the bacteria can contaminate packaged produce.

This is why salmonella is often found in food such as raw or under-cooked poultry or red meat.

The bacteria can also wriggle into eggs as they are forming inside a sickened hen and later ggeton egg shells when hens lay eggs or if the eggs touch infected droppings.

Symptoms of salmonella

The infection caused by the bacteria is called salmonellosis.

Symptoms include nausea, tummy pain, diarrhoea and vomiting. People usually start to feel sick six hours to six days after being exposed.

In severe cases, salmonella can contaminate the human bloodstream and cause infection and inflammation of the arteries and arthritis.

Public health officials say that 95 people began feeling unwell after eating out, with 24 of them dining at one of five food businesses.

Eleven of them ate eggs.

Jacquelyn McCormick, the head of incidents at the Food Standards Agency, told Metro that the eggs were imported and used by food service and catering establishments such as restaurants or cafes.

‘There is no evidence that UK-produced eggs are affected,’ McCormick said.

‘While investigations continue, our advice around eating eggs remains the same. Eggs which are thoroughly cooked and handled hygienically should not present a food safety risk. ’

No eggs are being recalled at the time of writing.

This outbreak involves a specific strain thought to have evolved from what caused an outbreak in 2025, which was also linked to imported eggs.

The Food Standards Agency is now working with local health authorities to offer food safety courses to businesses linked to Salmonella cases.

‘We continue to advise people who are handling eggs, eggshells or egg packaging to always wash their hands thoroughly with warm water and soap and dry them properly afterwards,’ added McCormick.

Hannah Charles, lead epidemiologist for gastrointestinal infections at UKHSA, said the salmonella is rarely spread from person-to-person.

‘Anyone who is concerned about symptoms should contact their GP or out-of-hours service in the first instance,’ she said.

‘There are simple steps to prevent the spread of salmonella: wash your hands thoroughly after using the bathroom and before preparing and handling food, cook food thoroughly, and if you have any symptoms, avoid handling food for others where possible.’

The risk to the public is low.

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