HEALTH authorities are investigating an outbreak of salmonella poisoning that has affected 10 people nationwide and led to one death.

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) is investigating a cluster of human cases of the illness in November and December which led to four people being hospitalised, one of whom died.

However, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has drawn a blank on the possible source of the infection as no common food link has been found between all the cases.

The 10 cases in Ireland involved seven men and three women aged between four and 82 years and were widely spread throughout the country, involving five of the country’s eight Health Services Executive areas.

Detailed food histories have been taken of all those who were infected to see if they had consumed something in common but, unlike a similar recent outbreak in the UK which was believed to have been caused by infected eggs imported from Spain, no likely source has been pinpointed, an FSAI spokesperson said.

The strain of salmonella concerned is a relatively rare form which has previously infected between two and six people a year in Ireland.

The HPSC said that investigations are ongoing to try and identify any common exposures between the 10 recent cases.