HEALTH officials in Herefordshire are warning the public about the dangers of eating undercooked food following a confirmed case of salmonella in the county.

The Herefordshire case is one of 22 to have been reported to the national Health Protection Agency since Friday, August 1. This is compared with 38 cases in the UK for the whole of last year.

Dr Alison Johnson, consultant in communicable disease control for the Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health Protection Unit, said the county occurrence was of the rare form of salmonella bareilly.

The cause has not yet been established.

According to the Health Protection Agency, salmonella bareilly is normally associated with foreign travel, particularly to the Indian sub-continent.

However, none of the current cases involve people who have recently been travelling.

The agency's Dr Sarah O'Brien said: "It is common to see a peak in salmonella cases in the summer time and we are working closely with colleagues from across England to investigate each of these outbreaks further.

"At present, we cannot be certain whether there is any common source to these cases or if the hot weather bears any relation.

"In the meantime, people should continue to take sensible food hygiene measures and, in particular, they should ensure that food is stored at appropriate temperatures."

Salmonella lives in the gut of animals and occasionally in humans. It is usually spread by undercooked food, or cross-contamination from raw foods.

Symptoms can include diarrhoea, vomiting and a fever. For most people it is an unpleasant, rather than a dangerous, illness.