Published Date: 1999-10-12 23:50:00
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> E. coli, VTEC, cattle, petting zoo - Canada (Ontario)
Archive Number: 19991012.1821
E. COLI, VTEC, CATTLE, PETTING ZOO - CANADA (ONTARIO)
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A ProMED post
<http://www.healthnet.org/programs/promed.html>
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[Mistakenly posted previously as: E. coli, VTEC, cattle, petting zoo - UK
(England)
- Mod.JW]
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See Also
E. coli, VTEC, open farm - UK (Wales) (02) 990709233420E. coli, open farm - UK (England) 970725182049
970730234611
E. coli prevalence in cattle & farm ecology (02) 981017102427
Rabies, bear, petting zoo - USA (Iowa) 990830214125
Rabies, bear, petting zoo - USA(Iowa)(05):CORRECTION 990915232113
Date: Sun, 10 Oct 1999 18:40:01 -0400
From: "Marjorie P. Pollack" <pollackmp@mindspring.com>
Source: London Free Press 10 Oct 1999 [edited
http://www.canoe.ca/LondonNews/01_n1.html
Health unit orders tests of 17 people
Fair animals trigger _E coli_ outbreak
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At least 21 people may have been infected by a dangerous strain of bacteria
linked to animals on display at last month's Western Fair.
It's feared the _E. coli_ bacteria could continue to be spread by those
carriers and that other people could still be exposed to the animals
carrying it, Dr. Bryna Warshawsky, a medical officer at the Middlesex-London
Health Unit [Ontario, said yesterday.
The health unit announced Friday that 2 children, an adolescent and an adult
contracted _E. coli_ after touching animals in the fair's agriculture
pavilion, including some at a petting zoo.
Seventeen people with infection symptoms contacted the health unit yesterday
and have been referred to doctors to confirm infection. Of the new potential
cases, 14 had visited the agriculture pavilion at the fair.
Another 3 are suspected "secondary cases" -- people infected by other
people, usually family members.
If all 21 cases are confirmed, it would be the greatest number of infections
from a single source in London [Ontario since the mid 1980s, Warshawsky
said.
Health workers are now trying to track down the animal or animals that
spread the _E. coli_ 0157:h7, a bacterial strain found in the intestines and
manure of healthy cattle.
The petting zoo travelled to a fair in Stratford, but no cases of infection
have been identified there, Warshawsky said. Owners of the zoo were to be
contacted this weekend at the Simcoe Fair.
All other pavilion animals will be traced by the health unit, she said.
The _E. coli_ bacteria, sometimes called "hamburger disease," are spread to
humans through the mouth.
Although the health unit sees about 25 individual cases of _E. coli_
bacterial infection each year, usually caused by undercooked beef, the last
"collective" outbreak happened in the mid-1980s at a nursing home,
Warshawsky said.
Between 2 and 7 per cent of people with the bacteria develop
hemolytic-uremic syndrome, a serious condition that affects blood and
kidneys, sometimes leading to kidney failure.
None of the four confirmed cases or 17 suspected cases has been hospitalized
and doctors are analysing stool samples, Warshawsky said.
Symptoms of infection, which usually occur within eight days of contact,
include abdominal cramps and watery diarrhea, which can be bloody.
There were 23 cattle and 7 calves on display in the pavilion. A small cow
was also kept in a petting zoo, adjacent to the other animals.
Fair patrons were warned by signs not to touch the animals, except for those
in the petting zoo. Anyone who visited the agriculture pavilion at the
Western Fair and later experienced diarrhea or cramps is urged to call the
health unit, especially those involved in health care, food handling or
child care.
Nurses are working all weekend to return calls.
People with _E. coli_ symptoms should call the health unit at 663-5317, then
seek medical attention and avoid preparing food for others.
[By Brodie Fenlon -- Free Press Reporter
............................................jw
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