LIMERICK CRECHE FORCED TO CLOSE DUE TO E. COLI O26 OUTBREAK
by John McCarthy | October 18th, 2011
A crèche in Limerick has been asked to close by the HSE as a result of an outbreak of Verocytotoxigenic E. coli O26. The reason for the closure is to enable all staff and children attending the crèche to be screened.
RTE has reported that fewer than ten children have been infected, with a number of linked cases having been identified. The HSE was quick to point out that it was satisfied that the childcare facility at the centre of the outbreak was fully compliant with the applicable pre-school standards.
The decision to close the crèche will nevertheless cause headaches for parents as the children concerned will not be able to attend other childcare facilities until they have been cleared of infection.
This is not the first time that an outbreak of E. coli O26 has occurred in a crèche in Ireland. A similar episode was recorded in 1998.
While it would appear that this outbreak is not foodborne in nature but rather that is as a consequence of human-to-human transmission, E. coli O26 is occasionally detected as an adulterant in food.
E. coli O157:H7 is by far and away the most prevalent serogroup of the VTEC group of bacteria which gives rise to serious food poisoning cases. That said, six other strains are observed relatively frequently, with E. coli O26 being one of these.
For example, in February of this year, the French-based retailer Carrefour recalled frozen hamburger patties which it had imported from Ireland after E. coli O26:H11 bacteria were discovered during routine testing. This was the second time in seven months in which E. coli O26 contamination was detected in France in frozen beef produced in Ireland.
While the observance of E. coli O26 in Irish meat is disturbing, some comfort may be taken from a national survey of raw minced beef at retail level undertaken by the FSAI in 2004, with the bacteria being found to have an incidence rate of 0.25%. Further reassurance was provided by the finding that the E. coli O26 isolates which were detected were negative for Verocytotoxin genes and therefore posed no potential public health risk.
Cooking meat contaminated with this pathogen thoroughly so that a temperature of 65oC is achieved throughout will prevent illness. However, this will not deal with the serious risk of cross-contamination of other foodstuffs in the kitchen environment which will not be subjected to high temperatures before being consumed.
E. coli 026:H11 can cause abdominal cramps and bloody diarrhoea at any time up to a week after consumption and can cause a serious kidney disease called haemolytic uraemic syndrome in vulnerable individuals such as young children or the elderly.
