Watermelons may be at root of Salmonella outbreak

Four children under the age of six and an adult in Scotland contracted Salmonella Newport. None of them required hospital treatment.

The cases are among 35 reported across the UK since December 2011.

Dr John Cowden, Consultant Epidemiologist at Health Protection Scotland said: “Although it’s too soon to say with certainty what the likely cause of infection is, early indications from cases across the UK suggest that a number of people became unwell after eating watermelon.

“It’s important to remember that many thousands of watermelons are eaten every day and 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 possible illness.

“Colleagues from the Food Standards Agency are part of the UK outbreak control team and they are working with us to identify the source of this outbreak. As soon as any particular producer or distributor of infected watermelons has been identified, steps will be put in place to inform the public and remove any affected items from the food chain.”