STV Health Centre

Health Protection Scotland has confirmed that four children and one adult in Scotland contracted the salmonella newport virus after eating watermelon between December and January.

Salmonella bacteria are often found in raw meat and poultry. They can also be passed into dairy products such as eggs and unpasteurised milk.

This virus can affect anyone of any age, although those most at risk are young children, elderly people and those with compromised immune systems.

Usually lasting between a few days and a week, infection from salmonella newport causes similar symptoms to other forms of salmonella, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pain.

These will usually clear up without treatment, although some patients may need to be treated for dehydration.

Salmonella newport can be prevented by the correct storage and cooking of foods and by hygienic food handling and preparation.

It is important for people with symptoms of salmonella newport to maintain their fluid levels and take care with hand-washing and general hygiene.

In addition, it is important for people to wash their hands before eating or preparing food, after handling raw meat or poultry, after using the toilet, after changing nappies and after cleaning up after others with diarrhoea.

Hand washing after contact with domestic or farm animals is especially important, and any children who have touched animals should be supervised when washing their hands.

Speaking of the recent cases salmonella cases, 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."