Scotland hit by new food poisoning outbreak

Medical and environmental health experts investigating the cause of Scotland's latest outbreak of E. coli 0157 were due to meet today to try to pinpoint the source of the illness.

Five people in the Borders area have been confirmed as having the bacteria, although only one is in hospital. Sheena Porteous, from Hawick, in her 60s, is said to be in a satisfactory condition. Two of the five cases appear to be unrelated but the other three, including Mrs Porteous, had attended a Burns Supper in the village of Roberton on 7 February. The two further victims are members of the same family from the Kelso area. Borders Health Board said around 100 people who attended the gathering had now come forward to be tested for the bacteria. A spokesman added that compared to the outbreak in central Scotland, which claimed the lives of 18 pensioners, and a recent outbreak in Arbroath, Tayside, which claimed two lives, the latest situation was "relatively minor".