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The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has issued a warning a real epidemic is at risk after 13 Swedish and Norwegian holiday-makers were taken ill with life-threatening pneumonia in Gran Canaria.

The watchdog urged tourists to be vigilant when travelling as the horror bug poses a significant threat to Europe should patients be transferred between hospitals from the area and in their home countries.

The ECDC warns of a “high risk of spreading and outbreaks if the traveller gets it, but it is not detected, and then is admitted to hospital once back home” after visiting the island that boasted an eye-watering 15million tourists in 2016 alone.

The bacterium has been detected as the Klebsiella pneumoniae ST392.

It produces enzymes Ora 48 and is usually contracted in health clinics and hospitals.