text: Image copyright University of Dundee 
   
   Two children from the same family have died after contracting E. coli, Public Health England (PHE) has confirmed. 
   
   The children, whose ages have not been released, were from the Charnwood area of Leicestershire and were treated in the past two weeks. 
   
   PHE confirmed it was working with environmental health officers after the confirmation of two cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) in two siblings. 
   
   HUS is a complication of E. coli that affects the kidneys. 
   
   PHE said the cases were not being treated as an outbreak and its thoughts were with the family at this "extremely difficult time". 
   
   Dr Lauren Ahyow, consultant in communicable disease control at PHE East Midlands, said: "E. coli is an infection that causes a spectrum of illness ranging from mild through to severe bloody diarrhoea, mostly without fever. 
   
   "Sometimes the infection can cause a condition called haemolytic uraemic syndrome which affects the kidneys and can be very serious." 
   
   Family's movements 
   
   She said young children and elderly people are more prone to development of complications associated with E. coli, which is a relatively rare infection. 
   
   "E.coli can be acquired through a number of routes including contaminated food, contact with farm animals and infected water," she said. 
   
   "PHE are working with partners to investigate further to try and determine a source of infection." 
   
   It has not yet been been revealed how the children contracted E. coli but PHE said it was working with partners to try to find the "source of infection" and were looking at the family's movements. 
   
   Tests are being carried out on the bacteria but it is thought it will be at least a week before the exact strain of E. coli is determined. 
   
   A Charnwood Borough Council spokesperson confirmed its environmental health officers had taken out sample kits to the family home. 
   
   Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk. ||||| Two children from the same family have died after contracting a deadly form of E.coli, Public Health England (PHE) has confirmed as officials admitted they have no idea what led to the infection. 
   
   There are fears of a wider outbreak as inspectors and health officers continued to investigate the course of contamination. 
   
   The children, whose names ages have not been released, were from the Charnwood area of Leicestershire and were treated in the past two weeks. 
   
   The siblings died after their kidneys were affected with a complication of E.coli called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). The strand typically affects elderly people and young children. 
   
   Experts at PHE warned that people can become infected with E.coli via a number of ways including contaminated food, contact with farm animals and infected water. 
   
   Dr Lauren Ahyow, Consultant in Communicable Disease Control at PHE East Midlands said: “E. coli is an infection that causes a spectrum of illness ranging from mild through to severe bloody diarrhoea, mostly without fever. 
   
   "Sometimes the infection can cause a condition called haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) which affects the kidneys and can be very serious. Young children and elderly people are more prone to development of complications associated with E. coli.
target: – In a tragic turn of events, two English children from the same family have died after contracting E. coli, the BBC reports. The kids, whose names and ages haven't been released, lived in the Charnwood area of Leicestershire. They died from haemolytic uraemic syndrome, a complication of E. coli that affects the kidneys. Public Health England is reportedly searching for the "source of infection" and have taken samples from the family's home. While officials tell the BBC that they are not treating the cases as an E. coli outbreak, the Telegraph notes that there "are fears of a wider outbreak." There are hundreds of E. coli cases across the UK each year, according to the paper, but fatalities are uncommon. "People can be reassured that E. coli is a relatively rare infection, a health official says, adding that "Good hygiene for all and supervised hand hygiene for small children is essential" to prevent infections. In the US, there was a recent E. coli outbreak linked to ground beef. Colorado meatpacker Cargill Meat Solutions last month recalled more than 132,000 pounds of ground beef after one person died and 17 were sickened. And this month, JBS Tolleson recalled 6.5 million pounds of ground beef after at least 57 people in 16 states were contracted salmonella.