Hunt for Salmonella bug

An outbreak of a "potent" and rare type of salmonella has health officials puzzled.

Since mid-October, 36 cases of Salmonella typhimurium phage type 42 have been reported nationwide, compared with 15 cases for last year and 28 in 2006.

Environmental Science and Research, public health units and the Food Safety Authority are trying to identify the source of the bacteria, which is thought likely to be some form of food product.