THE precise cause of Newport's typhoid outbreak in August, the first multiple case in Britain since 1992, will probably never be known.

Five people caught the disease around eight weeks ago and another was suspected but cleared. All five have recovered.

Investigations were concentrated on a kebab takeaway shop in the docklands area of Pill whose owner agreed voluntarily to close while health experts investigated.

The operation was led by Newport council. Environmental health officers and others tested and monitored premises, individuals, equipment and food, which showed there was now no typhoid in the area.

A spokeswoman said today: "The results of the investigation show there is now no greater risk to the community in Pill of contracting typhoid than there is to anyone anywhere else in the UK."

But it is understood that it is only the absence of further cases that has led the authorities to announce that the risk has passed.

News of the fifth victim was revealed on September 4 though she had contracted the disease at the same time as the others.

The kebab premises were the only common link with the victims, which was why exhaustive tests were carried out there.

But within the identified premises, Sam's Kebab Shop in Commercial Road, no exact cause of the outbreak was discovered and the search for it was inconclusive. It now seems likely that the source of the bacterium had disappeared before the tests were carried out.

None of the five victims, the first three of them teenagers, or their families has spoken about the experiences. Nor have they contacted the patients' watchdog body, the Gwent Community Health Council. The owner of the kebab shop, Sam Bulut, (pictured) said he intended to claim compensation from the council for isolating his premises but finding nothing.

He said: "I am very angry with the council because if they had nothing to blame us for then why did we have to close down?

"Business has slowed down so down so much for us and I am consulting my solicitor." But it is understood the council would have a watertight defence for the action they took in getting him to close his shop while tests were undertaken.

George Bullock, former chairman of the Pill Community Group, said: "I believe the council should have kept the public more aware of the situation.

"I really feel for the traders in the Pill area who have really suffered as a result of the council not making their investigation public."

A spokesman for the Communicable Diseases Surveillance Centre (Wales), which was involved in the investigation, said it was not always possible to be conclusive about the source of an outbreak.