Childcare facility in County Limerick forced to close temporarily over E.coli outbreak

A CHILDCARE facility was recently advised to close temporarily to facilitate the investigation of a number of unwell children and staff, Public Health HSE Mid West has confirmed.

The facility is located in County Limerick and it is understood that an Verotoxigenic E.coli (VTEC) outbreak was the cause of the illnesses. This investigation is now complete and the facility has reopened.

The spokesperson for Public Health HSE Mid West said they do not comment or elaborate on individual cases or outbreaks that “may breach our duty of confidentiality and trust to both the individuals and organisations concerned”.

Maintaining this confidentiality is not only an ethical requirement for the HSE, it is also a legal requirement under GDPR they say.

“VTEC is a potentially serious stomach infection that causes abdominal cramps, diarrhoea and sometimes bloody diarrhoea. VTEC and other enteric diseases (e.g. stomach infections due to parasites, viruses, and bacteria) are more likely to occur at this time of year, and are not uncommon, particularly in childcare facilities."

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“VTEC can be passed from person to person, through consuming contaminated food or water or contact with farm animals or contamination in the environment,” said the spokesperson. The Leader contacted Uisce Éireann to see if they could shed some light on the VTEC outbreak."

“Illness caused by E.coli is a notifiable disease and therefore would have been notified to the Public Health Department of the HSE by the GP. When notified to the HSE, a risk assessment is carried out by the HSE to review the potential risk factors. If the HSE suspect the public water supply as a potential cause, Uisce Éireann would be formally notified and we can confirm there has been no such notification,” said the spokesperson.

They said the local supply has been sampled twice this year and both samples showed adequate disinfection and were fully compliant for all parameters tested.