Five nurseries shut in E.coli outbreak as cases soar to 47
FIVE Scots nurseries are now closed due to a growing E.coli outbreak, with total cases rising to 47.
E.coli has been confirmed in three nurseries in East Lothian and another two have closed while testing is carried out.
NHS bosses have urged families to follow self-isolation measures to help stop the rise in cases.
The bacteria has been identified in cases linked to Church Street Pear Tree Nursery and Meadowpark Pear Tree Nursery, both in Haddington, East Lothian, and Musselburgh Private Nursery’s Bridge Street site.
Tests are being carried out at two more nurseries, Musselburgh Private Nursery’s Stoneybank Terrace site and West Road Pear Tree Nursery, in Haddington.
Plans are under way to reopen Church Street Pear Tree Nursery after public health restrictions were lifted.
Staff and children considered at risk of infection are being asked to follow similar quarantine guidance to that imposed during the Covid pandemic.
They must remain at home and not mix until they have gone through a clearance process, which includes producing two negative stool samples.
The outbreak has caused major disruption for children who were due to return to school and those who were due to move on from nursery.
NHS Lothian says it has not yet identified a specific source, but advanced microbiological testing is ongoing to identify the strain of the infection.
The health board has been working on the outbreak since the beginning of the month and has formed a multiagency incident management team to investigate the cluster of cases.
Dr Graham Mackenzie, consultant in public health medicine and chairman of the team investigating the outbreak, said: ‘It is crucially important that families understand that this is a rapidly evolving situation and it is affecting the lives of hundreds of people.
‘We need everyone to work with us to bring an end to this outbreak as swiftly as possible.
‘If you have been given an exclusion order, it means that you must selfisolate at home, just as we have all done with Covid-19. You must not go to work or school, the shops, the playpark or to parties and sleepovers.’
He added: ‘There is light at the end of the tunnel and as soon as enough exclusions are lifted and investigations are complete, nurseries will be able to reopen.
‘If families choose to mix with others when they have been instructed to self-isolate, they are putting themselves and others at risk.’
People can be exposed to E.coli from contaminated water or food as well as person-to-person contact. Children and older adults are at greater risk of developing a life-threatening form of kidney failure.
There is no specific treatment and most people who are infected will get better without medical treatment.
In November 1996, meat contaminated with E.coli killed 21 people in Wishaw, Lanarkshire, in the world’s worst outbreak.