Scottish health experts are trying to detect the source of E coli infection that recently killed an eight-year-old girl from East Ayrshire.

The girl had contracted the E. coli O157 strain, and had been getting treatment at the Glasgow-based Royal Hospital for Sick Children, but the child couldn't be saved.

Health officials at NHS Ayrshire and Arran said they could not detect the source of the E coli O157 infection but claimed that it was not part of an outbreak.

Public health medicine consultant Dr. Jane Cooper said, "NHS Ayrshire & Arran is satisfied that this case is not part of an outbreak, and has not identified a particular source which might represent a risk to others."

Cooper added that an outbreak might occur if several people were exposed to the same source of the infection.

NHS has issued a number of precautions, such as washing hands after contacting possible sources like animal faeces, raw food and milk, to help people reduce the risk of infection.

Symptoms, such as fever, sickness and diarrhea, normally develop following consuming contaminated foods, beverages, or having contact with infected animals.