Britain : Major food alert as three people in Britain diagnosed with E.coli strain that has killed five in Germany

Via Mail Online, now Britain is reporting cases of E Coli :

" Spanish cucumbers are suspected source of deadly E.coli strain

Three people have been diagnosed in Britain with the killer E.coli strain that has already claimed five lives in Germany and put 300 people in hospital.

At least another 500 people are suspected of being infected and hospitals in Germany are braced for a wave of new admissions.

Many of the victims - most of them women - are in intensive care and fighting for their lives after eating suspected 'killer cucumbers' from Spain that are now thought to be the cause of the infections.

But other salad items such as tomatoes and lettuce may also be the source of the bug.

The UK victims are Germans who travelled from their homeland and fell ill after entering Britain. However, the infection could potentially be passed person-to-person through hand-to-mouth contact.

It is understood the suspect salad items have not been sold in the UK but the UK Health Protection Agency said checks are ongoing.

Today the HPA said the outbreak is mainly affecting adults - almost 70 per cent of whom are women."