Press Releases
Pet farm visitors should follow basic guidelines to avoid infection as children begin school holidays - HPSC
The HSE Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) today (Friday) urged visitors to Open or Pet Farms to follow basic guidelines in order to reduce the risk of picking up infections, especially VTEC E.coli O157.
As schools break up for the Easter holidays and the clocks go forward this Sunday children and their parents are more likely to come into contact with farm animals and their environment, said HPSC specialist in public health medicine Dr Paul McKeown.
"Adherence to a number of basic guidelines will make sure that visits to farms are a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone, especially children, who get to learn more about rural life and experience contact with animals.
Visitors should:
- Observe farm notices
- Avoid consuming unpasteurised products
- Avoid tasting animal feedstuffs
- Cover all cuts or broken skin with waterproof plasters
- Avoid letting your face come into contact with animals
- Eat only in designated eating areas
- Wash and dry hands after contact with animals or animal feed and before eating and drinking
- Ensure that children's handwashing is supervised by adults
- Ensure that children under the age of five are very closely supervised in the presence of any animals
- Avoid eating anything off the ground
- Avoid putting fingers in your mouth or in the mouths of animals
- Avoid touching manure or slurry
- Only feed animals under supervision from a farm worker
- Pregnant women should avoid handling sheep or lambs
- Wash their hands and make sure that their shoes are free from animal dung when leaving the farm
"These guidelines are particularly important for vulnerable people such as children, the elderly or immunocompromised people. VTEC can cause severe bloody diarrhoea and abdominal cramps. Usually there is little or no fever, and patients recover within five to 10 days. However, some people, particularly children under five years of age and the elderly, are at risk of a complication called haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS), in which the red blood cells are destroyed and the kidneys fail. This happens in up to 10% of child cases. HUS is the principal cause of acute kidney failure in children, and the majority of cases of HUS are caused by E. coli O157:H7.
"So far in Ireland we have had no confirmed cases connected with Open or Pet Farms, although the UK has seen over a hundred such cases. Adherence to these simple guidelines, will ensure that such cases are kept to a minimum here," he said.
For further information see:
http://www.hpsc.ie/hpsc/A-Z/Gastroenteric/VTEC/Guidance/File,3973,en.pdf
http://www.hpsc.ie/hpsc/A-Z/Gastroenteric/VTEC/Guidance/File,3976,en.pdf
http://www.hpsc.ie/hpsc/A-Z/Gastroenteric/VTEC/Guidance/File,4199,en.pdf
Householders should properly maintain private water supplies following possible disease threat from heavy rainfall - HPSC
The HSE Health Protection Surveillance Centre today (Wednesday) strongly advised householders to ensure that any private water wells are properly maintained following an increase in Verotoxigenic E. coli (VTEC) cases in November, which may be linked with recent heavy rainfall.
Twenty six cases of VTEC have been reported in November, compared with between two and 10 cases for the same period in previous years, according to HPSC specialist in public health medicine, Dr Paul McKeown.
“So far in 2009, a total 216 cases have been reported and anyone who drinks water from private wells may need to consider boiling water or taking other appropriate measures after periods of heavy rainfall.
“This is particularly important for vulnerable people such as children, the elderly or immunocompromised people. Well water can become polluted without any noticeable change in taste or smell. In the longer term, householders should disinfect their private wells regularly and protect them from contaminated surface water.
“VTEC can cause severe bloody diarrhoea and abdominal cramps. Usually there is little or no fever, and patients recover within five to 10 days. However, some people, particularly children under five years of age and the elderly, are at risk of a complication called haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS), in which the red blood cells are destroyed and the kidneys fail. This happens in up to 10% of child cases. HUS is the principal cause of acute kidney failure in children, and the majority of cases of HUS are caused by E. coli O157:H7.
“Around 10% of Irish homes get their water from private wells. However, around 70% of our recent cases report drinking water from private wells. While not all of these cases are caused by water consumption it does raise concerns that the water serving these households may be contaminated.
“The recent heavy rainfall has caused very high water table levels, excessive run off and flooding which increases the chances of drinking water being contaminated. Householders can get further advice on disinfecting and protecting private wells from your Local Authority and on microbiological testing of well water from the HSE Environmental Health Service,” he added.
