A DURHAM City restaurant is at the centre of an investigation into 131 cases of salmonella.

But as The Advertiser went to press, neither Durham City Council nor Durham and Chester-le-Street Primary Care Trust, which are jointly looking into the outbreak, would confirm the restaurant's name.

The investigation was launched after 146 cases of salmonella infection were reported in County Durham and Darlington between May 1 and June 23. Of these, 131 were traced back to a single Durham City restaurant, where the last known victim ate on May 30.

Eleven people are believed to have been hospitalised as a result of their symptoms.

The figures marked a sharp increase in food poisoning incidents compared with the same period last year, in which only 20 were reported in County Durham and Darlington.

It is thought that the city restaurant responsible for the vast majority of the cases was closed for a short period, although the trust has denied that this was as a result enforcement action.

A trust spokesman said: "Durham and Chester-le-Street PCT, environmental health officers from Durham City Council and other local councils, and staff from the Health Protection Agency have been working together to investigate an increased number of salmonella infections in residents of County Durham and Darlington.

"The investigations into the increase in cases of salmonella infection, as always, are broad and include a number of possibilities.

"A restaurant in Durham City is included in this investigation, and is co-operating."

The spokesman added that investigations were continuing and that the trust was confident that the restaurant had implemented effective measures to prevent a further outbreak.

A Durham City Council spokeswoman said that while no action had yet been taken against the restaurant, this was still a possibility.

She said: "It would be wrong to rush into early enforcement before we have all the medical data back from the laboratories and have correlated all other relevant information.

"The investigation is still going on, and it may be that enforcement action, which could include court action, will be the result.

"However, we need hard facts before we prosecute."

Health authority spokesman Edmund Lovell said: "I think the key message is that the outbreak was dealt with very effectively.

"The restaurant was extremely co-operative which helped everyone involved to handle this well.

"It is important to point out that the outbreak is over and there have been no new cases since May 30."