1:44 p.m. ET (1744 GMT) May 26, 2000

WALKERTON, Ontario (Reuters) - A fifth person died on Thursday in what may be Canada's biggest E. coli epidemic, as police and health officials were set to decide whether to launch a criminal investigation into the outbreak.

Dr. Murray McQuigge, the area's chief medical officer, said the outbreak in the mainly agricultural community of Walkerton, Ontario, could have been prevented, and accused the local Public Utilities Commission (PUC) of ignoring the results of its own tests on Thursday, May 18, which he said established the town's water was unsafe.

He said 10 people, including four children, remained in a critical condition, struck down by bacteria in the town's water system.

An infant and three adults died from E. coli complications on Wednesday. At least 500 people have been infected in Walkerton, a town of 5,000 people about two hours drive northwest of Toronto.

Dr. James Cairns, deputy chief coroner for the province of Ontario, sai

McQuigge said he would meet with health and provincial police officials on Friday to try to decide where blame for deaths is to be laid. "There is probably going to be a criminal investigation,'' he said.

McQuigge said his office had alerted residents after independent tests by the public health laboratory revealed on Monday positive culture for E. coli 0157 after several people were admitted to hospital with bloody diarrhea.

The Canadian flag flew at half mast outside city hall, where Mayor David Thompson earlier held a news conference and faced angry residents who accused him of negligence and a cover-up.

Some common words found in the essay are:
James Cairns, Saugeen River, Commission PUC, David Thompson, Philip Englishman, WALKERTON Ontario, Ministry Environment, Murray McQuigge, Fifth Victim, Jacques Gosselin, water contaminated, water unsafe, investigation outbreak, puc water, public utilities, coli epidemic, town's water, walkerton ontario,
Approximate Word count = 705
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)