English health experts investigate Salmonella outbreak

English health authorities said on Friday they are investigating an outbreak of food poisoning that has affected 156 people in Britain and others in France and Austria. Salmonella Enteritidis is a strain of bacteria that causes gastrointestinal illness and is often associated with poultry or eggs. Public Health England (PHE) said that over the past few months, 55 cases had been seen in the southern county of Hampshire and 25 in London while, further north, there had been 33 cases in Cheshire and 43 in the West Midlands. “In England, the cases occurred as isolated clusters over several months and have been managed locally, but are now being reassessed as potentially linked under a national investigation,” PHE said in a statement.