Instant noodles to blame for salmonella outbreak that has struck down dozens of children
Over one hundred people have fallen ill with salmonella, including dozens of children, and officials have traced it back to instant noodles and processed chicken.
Infections have been reported in 14 European countries including the UK – with children and young people ‘disproportionately’ affected.
The first case was detected in November last year, with 106 salmonella cases confirmed as of 27 June. As many as 29 of these were in the UK.
Around 50 patients were hospitalised with the common bacterial disease, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) reports.
Children under the age of 10 make up around two thirds of cases.
According to health authorities, chicken flavoured instant noodles from a specific brand are the most likely source of infection – but they did not name the products.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) added it has been working to establish if UK cases may be linked to products that have been recalled abroad.
‘We are supporting an ongoing investigation into an international Salmonella outbreak, with most reported cases occurring in children and young people,’ Dr Gauri Godbole, Deputy Director at UKHSA told the Sun.
‘Current findings indicate that chicken-flavoured instant noodles and/or processed chicken products are the suspected sources of infection.’
The outbreak has been linked back to chicken flavoured instant noodles and processed chicken, like nuggets
Denmark was the first country to raise the alarm in March and the strain was identified as S. Stanley ST2045.
So far, cases have been reported in Austria, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden and the UK.
Patients in Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Latvia and Lithuania all reported consuming flavoured noodle products from the same brand.
The outbreak strain was detected in chicken-flavoured and hot-chicken-flavoured noodle products from the brand in Germany and Lithuania.
The same products are also available in Ukraine.
‘This suggests a possible common source of contamination at production plant level, although further investigation is needed,’ the ECDC said.
Other strains of salmonella have been detected in products of the same brand, suggesting there may be more than one source of contamination.
In response, several countries have withdrawn or recalled potentially contaminated products linked to the outbreak to reduce the likelihood of the bacterial disease spreading.
Salmonella accounts for about one in four diarrheal diseases worldwide
However, the health watchdog conceded that other vehicles for infection could not be excluded, as not all patients reported consuming noodles, while others said they had eaten processed chicken like chicken nuggets.
Other patients who have been struck down by the illness admitted to eating the instant noodles without heating them with boiled water.
Health officials are now urging people to follow manufacturer’s instructions when preparing instant noodles and not to eat them raw – which can increase the risk of infection.
Salmonella is a common bacterial disease – found in chicken, meat, eggs, raw fruit and vegetables- that affects the intestinal tract .
Early symptoms include nausea and stomach cramps followed by a fever, vomiting and diarrhoea.
While for many symptoms clear up within a couple of days, for others it can take weeks to fully recover.
In some cases, particularly for the elderly or those with weakened immune systems, a severe bout can lead to a lengthy hospital stay or even prove fatal.
It comes as official figures published last month revealed that the number of salmonella cases in England are at a ten-year high, with 10,406 cases recorded last year.
Hospitalisation for food poisoning has surged by nearly 90 per cent in just five years.
Experts warned these figures are just the tip of the iceberg as, for most people, food poisoning is a relatively simple illness which they brave out at home – meaning they are not tested for specific bugs or recorded in official data.
Crucially, though, the number of recalls has not increased the FSA says, suggesting there is no growing problem with hygiene or contamination on production lines, but rather with how people are cooking and storing food,
