Two people have died after being struck down by the E. coli 0157 bug in cases which may be linked to eating mixed salad leaves.
Public Health England (PHE) is investigating an outbreak which has so far affected 151 people, and whether salad leaves - possibly including rocket imported from the Mediterranean - are to blame.
In the meantime, people are being advised to thoroughly wash all salads and vegetables which will be eaten raw, unless they have been pre-prepared and are labelled "ready to eat".
PHE would not give any further details of the victims or disclose where the fatalities occurred.
However, there have been 144 cases in England - mainly in the South West - and a further six in Wales and one in Scotland.
Symptoms include mild to bloody diarrhoea and severe abdominal pain.
It can be passed on to other people through poor hand washing after using the toilet and also after contact with pets and farm animals.
PHE recommends young children are supervised when they wash their hands to ensure they use soap and water.
It has also advised "a small number of wholesalers" to stop adding some imported rocket leaves to their mixed salad bags as a precautionary measure.
Dr Isabel Oliver, director of PHE's field epidemiology service, said: "PHE has been working to establish the cause of the outbreak and has identified that several of the affected individuals ate mixed salad leaves including rocket leaves prior to becoming unwell.
"Currently, the source of the outbreak is not confirmed and remains under investigation; we are not ruling out other food items as a potential source."
She added: "PHE is also working closely with the Food Standards Agency to trace, sample and test salad products grown in the UK and other parts of Europe.
"All food sample results to date have been negative for E.coli O157, but it's important to be aware that where food has been contaminated with E.coli O157, it is not always possible to identify the bacteria on food testing."
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