Published: 11:09 BST, 20 August 2026 | Updated: 11:21 BST, 20 August 2026
Health investigators have linked goat's cheese and bagged lettuce to outbreaks of a nasty diarrhoea bug.
Officials launched a probe after infections of the parasite cryptosporidium parvum increased around eight-fold in France last year.
The parasite can wreak havoc if humans swallow water or food which has been contaminated by infected people or animals, or by touching their stool.
This causes cryptosporidiosis, a highly infectious illness – with no effective drug treatment – that can trigger severe diarrhoea that lasts weeks.
In some cases, severe diarrhoea can become extremely life-threatening by leading to dangerous dehydration.
Cases of the bug surged in France to 166 between January and September last year, up from less than 20.
After investigating the rise, scientists found that 76 infections were part of two major outbreaks.
It comes two years after cryptosporidium was discovered in waters in Brixham, Devon.
Health investigators have linked goat's cheese and bagged lettuce to outbreaks of a nasty diarrhoea bug
That led to a major contamination event over 54 days which left more than 140 people suffering with sickness and diarrhoea.
And South West Water, responsible for the area, was fined £2million just last month.
The first outbreak in France last year involved 45 people who became ill between April and June, with raw goat's milk cheese the suspected cause.
Of 23 patients interviewed by health officials, 17 reported eating goat's milk cheese.
The reports were traced back to two dairy farms that supplied the milk to produce goat's cheese.
