E.coli children in quarantine unit after food bug outbreak
NURSERY children infected with the E.coli O157 food poisoning bug are being treated in a special quarantine unit.
The cases are part of an outbreak that is thought to have originated from a playgroup in the Carnoustie area of Angus.
Health chiefs believe that this may be part of a wider national outbreak – said to be linked to blue cheese – in which a three-year-old girl from Bearsden, near Glasgow, has died.
NHS Tayside said last night a ‘very small number’ of suspected and confirmed cases in Angus were being managed in a dedicated area of Dundee’s Tayside Children’s Hospital to prevent the spread of the bug, which is particularly contagious among small children.
NHS Tayside Consultant in Public Health Medicine Dr Jackie Hyland said: ‘This is an evolving situation. Members of the community are understandably concerned and have provided tremendous support in trying to minimise spread of infection and identify a possible source.
‘The cases and contacts have now been identified and children should now be attending school or nursery unless they are symptomatic or have been formally excluded by the Health Protection Team.’
It was also reported a threeyear-old girl from the same area has received a blood transfusion and is responding well to treatment in a hospital in Glasgow after being infected.
Investigations are still ongoing to determine possible sources and routes of transmission, including a possible link to the national E.coli investigation led by Health Protection Scotland.
In total, 22 people have been diagnosed with E.coli in the national outbreak, 13 of whom required hospital treatment.
An investigation into the death of the three-year-old girl has been launched under the direction of the Crown Office’s Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit.
E.coli is the name of a family of bacteria commonly found in farm animals and outdoors.
Hugh Pennington, Emeritus Professor of Bacteriology at Aberdeen University, said: ‘In outbreaks about 20 per cent of the outbreak is person-to-person spread and it’s very often children because they do not have very good personal hygiene – particularly very young children.’
A statement from NHS Tayside yesterday said: ‘Possible sources and routes of transmission continue to be investigated, including a link to the national E.coli investigation led by Health Protection Scotland.’
Last week, schools in Carnoustie handed out information leaflets about E.coli to parents. The Peter Pan playgroup in Carnoustie closed voluntarily as investigations got under way. The Incident Management Team (IMT) investigating the national outbreak last week said 19 of the 22 confirmed cases had eaten blue cheese prior to becoming ill.
Dr Alison Smith-Palmer, of IMT, said: ‘Of these, 15 are known to have eaten Dunsyre Blue, while others cannot be certain about the brand of blue cheese they have consumed.’
On Wednesday, Food Standards Scotland banned the sale of all cheese produced by Errington Cheese, of Carnwath, Lanarkshire. It said the products posed a ‘potential risk to consumers’ health’.
Owner Humphrey Errington has insisted he has not seen evidence that his cheese is unsafe.
Last night, he said: ‘We have still not been sent any information from the authorities to show us why they think there is anything wrong with the any of the cheese.’ He added: ‘At the moment we are in discussion with our lawyers.’
Asked about the business’s 13 staff, Mr Errington said: ‘We sent them all on holiday. We didn’t have any choice; we didn’t have anything for them to do.’
‘This is an evolving situation’