'Keep toddlers from animals' call

[tryingtobemarypoppins]

This was on the bbc today news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8264266.stm

I have a bit of a problem as my parents, to whom I am soooooo greatful too, look after my 22 month old twice a week. They are very very out doorsy (sp?) and have a small holding of goats, chickens etc. They also take him to lots of farms etc which is lovely.

I am however really worried about those poor children who have caught E.coli and feel that when advice like the bbc have given today is given, parents should think carefully about following it......

difficult situation......what do you think?

i'm not 30 yet

Hand washing will remove all germs won't it? Even if it is a new strain. There are always new strains of bacteria, they never stand still.

but you don't live on a farm, misdee.

Is it just farm animals that are harbouring this new strain?

ruminants - so sheep, cattle, goats.

Odd that it's endemic in this country and the US but not Europe.

My Husband is a manager of an open farm. We have two small children and sympathise with those parents in surrey. I also highly value the benefits that my children gain from visiting the countryside and contact with animals. So I would like to share with you some of the facts he has shared with me .....My husband also has a biology degree, and is risk assessment trained. Through their risk assessments they had already looked into this years ago. About 70% of ecoli infections between 1998 - 2005 were from food and water sources, only about 20% from animal contact ( this includes contact with pets ).So, should we not be showing more concern for the sources that cause the majority of ecoli infections. Another study of over 630 cases of food poisoning ( incuding many other harmful bacteria including e coli ) in 1997 showed that 300ish of the 630ish cases were animal related and of those 300 cases 94% were from pets and only 6% frm farm anaimals.
Also, not every farm animal carries e coli 157. Dogs can also carry e coli 157 and even rabbits, infact in year 2000 an outbreak in cornwall was traced back to dog faeces on a beach and about 8% of faeces collected on the beach contained ecoli 157. And another case was traced back to bird droppings on a hand rail from rooks.
So, it all comes back to good general hand hygienne at all times not just at farms. Always before you eat, after you garden as cats may have pooped in the flower beds, particularly after contact with pets and toilets ( remember human faeces carries many nasties too ).

E Coli 0157 is a dangerous bacteria and can kill the old and the young. It is not the same as the e coli that we all carry in our gut or which is generally in animals.

handwashing is not necessarily sufficient to eradicate the risk. You need to be exposed to just 10 e coli 0157 bacteria to become ill. You need to be exposed to 1000's of salmonella for example to become ill. It can be on clothes, footwear etc and is easily spread within a family.

a number of children have suffered renal failure, spent weeks in hospital and may have long term renal problems

reports suggest that the farm were aware that 0157 was on the farm but the farm chose to remain open placing innocent children at unneccesary risk. If you know that 0157 is so dangerous why would anyone expose their children to the risk of suffering serious health conditions and even death.