Health officials are trying to trace the source of an outbreak of illnesses caused by the bug cryptosporidium in Northern Ireland.

The Eastern Health Board has said the outbreak seems to be "almost completely" confined to their area.

They are looking for a common source of 85 recorded cases, mostly in the County Antrim and County Down towns of Lisburn and Bangor.

Dr Philip Donaghy from the Eastern Health Board said that to most people the bug "causes a few days illness".

However, in young children, the elderly or the immuno-suppressed, it can be extremely dangerous.

Mr Donaghy said: "It is a small organism which people swallow and in the gut it affects the cells causing diarrhoea, abdominal pains, a feeling of illness and sometimes vomiting."

Full Story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/northern_ireland/newsid_759000/759288.stm