Update: Since this article was originally published, eight more cases of E. coli O157:H7 were confirmed to be part of this outbreak, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 98. There are an additional 175 suspected cases, according to North Ireland’s Public Health Agency, as reported by BBC News on the afternoon of Monday October 22. At least 269 people are suspected to have fallen ill in an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 after eating at a restaurant in Belfast, Northern Ireland’s Public Health Agency announced on Sunday. This is by far the largest E. coli outbreak in the nation’s history.
The number ill consist of 90 laboratory-confirmed cases and another 179 probable cases. Probable cases are those with exposure and corresponding symptoms, but who have not been tested for E. coli infection in a clinical laboratory. The restaurant, Flicks, was also connected to an E. coli outbreak in August that sickened four people. On Sunday the PHA announced that the two outbreaks were isolated incidents and the bacteria involved differed genetically. Flicks voluntarily closed on October 9 pending a public health investigation into the cause of the outbreak. In an interview with BBC, a Northern Ireland health official said that no E. coli outbreaks in the country prior to this had exceeded 20 cases. Illnesses began to arise around September 24, and the PHA encourages anyone who ate at the restaurant and experienced symptoms of E. coli infection to contact them immediately.
