CM club.....Urgent advice neede about possible E coli

[hennipenni]

Just had phone call from mindees mum (one I sent home yesterday) that she may have gastro- enteritus or possible E coli (waiting for stool sample to go in) I think I remember this being a notifiable disease but Drs would notify enviro health if they are correct? but as a minder what do I do regards other mindees? tell parents or wait until diagnoses coinfirmed as to what the problem is? Anything else that i need to be doing? TIA

E-Coli is not infections from person to person. Only from food to person. Or faeces (animals) to person. I am not a cm, I dont even work in childcare, but as a mum, my next step would be to find out what mindee has eaten in your care. Most likely source contaminated meat.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/medical_notes/83169.stm e coli

e coli

I'd wait Henni. There is a lot of nasty bugs going round atm, don't panic anyone yet. Could it have been something eaten at your house?

Thanks SSN, can't get your link to work. Mindee in question doesn't eat meat when with me. Am thinking/hoping that if it is E-coli that she picked it up over the weekend as she went away to the sea-side.

Wait until diagnosis is confirmed surely....ring your local childrenas information service for advice now just incase!!

If its is e coli- which is very unlikely and its much more likely gastro then environmental health will be notified..you will almost certainly have to close and be investigated or whatever it is they do (along with any other establishments where the child has eaten).

fingers crossed for you and mindee that it isn't e coli

Jenna

Thanks for your help, am still panicking (a little). Iknow exactly what she eats here and never,ever goes near any type of meat, either cooked or uncooked.

How long have you got to wait for the results? Did the parent seem to blame you at all?

Not sure about the results as they are still waiting for a sample. There was absolutly no blame laid at my door, but as somebody who looks after the most precious things in peoples lives- I get very paraniod that I may mess them up . If that makes sense!

Makes perfect sense! I once had a mindee who chewed the end off a crayon. Just one of those things really, I was colouring with him at the time and he just bit the end off! Told his parents, to watch out for anything orange in his nappy and his mum kept him off the next day because he had an upset tummy! I was mortified and kept phoning to make sure he was OK, all over the weekend, until mum phoned me again to say the whole family had come down with upset tummies, so it wasn't the crayon at all. Not that she blamed me anyway. I still remember it now, it was a horridly long weekend of worry.