AMID the tragedy and anger over the E. coli food poisoning outbreak in Scotland, which has now claimed 10 lives, there is bound to be alarm over the discovery of the infection in East Lancashire.

But though the Lanarkshire outbreak is still the subject of investigation, the immediate lessons of that awful experience point to what the proper response should be to the emergence of E. coli cases in our region.

It must be one of calm and thorough openness.

For despite its ravages in Scotland, let it be stressed that this bacterium is not some new, unbeatable super bug.

It is a well-understood and commonly-occurring organism.

And it can be contained and defeated by well-tried public health measures. But because it is responsible for what has become Britain's worst-ever food poisoning outbreak, it is in the spotlight and fear of it is bound to be heightened.

Yet, just as the salmonella-in-eggs panic of eight years ago fuelled unnecessary alarm over a common, but containable, food poisoning bug, any fear that occurs with this outbreak of E. coli must be dealt with soberly and promptly by the authorities.

And it is vital that neither misinformation, nor lack of information, is part of their response.

That, it is alleged, is a factor which, though possibly employed to allay public panic, may have been responsible for the dreadful extent of the Scottish outbreak.

In this case, then, the public must be given the full facts and the truth about the sources of this infection.

They must be given prompt advice on what health measures they must seek and employ.

Otherwise alarm, if not the outbreak itself, may needlessly spread.

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