BARROW-IN-FURNESS (England), Aug 5: Fifty-six cases of Legionnaires’ disease have been confirmed in northern England in the biggest British outbreak of the bug for around a decade, medical authorities said on Monday.

A further 17 people were suspected of having the disease, while a council official has been suspended and other staff were being questioned by police in connection with the outbreak of the potentially deadly form of pneumonia.

Of the confirmed cases, 20 more than on Saturday, 18 were in intensive care in hospitals in Barrow-in-Furness and the surrounding region, five of whom were giving doctors cause for concern.

Officials have warned that up to 10 people might die in the outbreak. It claimed its first victim, Richard Macaulay, 88, on Friday, a day after the bug was first detected.

Medical experts said, however, they hoped the outbreak had now reached a plateau.—AFP