Child dies after eating blue cheese linked to E.coli outbreak

A child in Scotland has died of E.Coli after eating blue cheese, health officials have said.

Twenty others who ate the same brand of Dunsyre Blue cheese, made by Lanarkshire-based Errington Cheese, were also infected.

A multi-agency incident management team (IMT) chaired by Health Protection Scotland is investigating the outbreak.

IMT chair Dr Alison Smith-Palmer said all confirmed cases occurred prior to the end of July.

A total 11 of those infected with E. coli were treated in hospital.

The latest outbreak of O157 follows one that started at the end of June which claimed the lives of two people, thought to be linked to mixed salad leaves.

Food Standards Scotland (FSS) said the company is carrying out a voluntary recall of batches of the blue cheese that may be affected.

Customers who have bought the product between mid-May and the end of July with the batch codes C22 or D14 should dispose of them.

Symptoms of E.coli O157 include stomach cramps, diarrhoea, vomiting and occasionally fever.