Thirty-one people have been infected with a strain of salmonella Montevideo since March, with three hospitalized, the Health Protection Agency has said. Those taken to hospital were one baby, one child and one adult, reports BBC News.

The HPA is probing a rate of salmonella Montevideo cases almost four times above normal between March and June.

Cadbury recalled a million chocolate bars after contamination by the bug at one of its factories but the HPA has not linked the outbreak to any food. The contamination at Cadbury’s factory in Marlbrook, Herefordshire is being investigated by both the Food Standards Agency and the HPA.

The HPA said: "A definitive epidemiological link has not been established between the current increase in [salmonella] Montevideo infection and the consumption of any food."