ERIN McCLAM, Associated Press Writer
©2001 Associated Press
ATLANTA
(AP) -- Thousands of children are being exposed to dangerous E. coli bacteria
at petting zoos and county fairs, the government said in releasing new warnings
about farm animal exhibits.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
cited E. coli outbreaks last year that sickened 56 people, including dozens of
children, at a dairy farm in Pennsylvania and a petting zoo in Washington state.
The children touched goats, cows, chickens and other farm animals, then
put their hands to their mouths -- either by eating and drinking near the animals
or by chewing their fingernails or sucking on pacifiers.
The CDC issued
new guidelines Thursday for open animal exhibits, stressing that organizers should
provide more adequate hand washing facilities and ban hand-to-mouth contact close
to the animals.
``A lot of people go to these things,'' CDC epidemiologist
John Crump said. ``There are people who are more susceptible to getting more serious
illness, and those people are children.''
In Pennsylvania, 51 people --
mostly children -- became sick from E. coli last fall after visiting a dairy farm
where the public can touch the animals. The CDC said sinks for washing were out
of children's reach.
Last spring, four people became sick at the Washington
petting zoo. A fifth was sickened after a sibling visited the zoo.
Nineteen
of the 56 people were hospitalized. Symptoms of E. coli infection include fever,
vomiting and severe diarrhea.
At the Pennsylvania farm -- Merrymead Farm
of Lansdale -- owners are installing double fencing around animals and adding
washing stations, spokesman Steve Quigley said.
But Quigley said concern
should not be limited to animal farms and petting zoos.
``What happens
when your neighbor wanders over and the child pets your dog without knowing it?''
he said. ``It's a national problem.''
The CDC said it was not concerned
about everyday pets like dogs and cats carrying dangerous pathogens like E. coli.
Crump said the government was compelled to issue its warning about farm animals
because thousands of children visit petting zoos, traveling fairs and similar
exhibits each year.
About 70,000 cases of E. coli infection are reported
in the United States annually, about 100 of them fatal. Transmission usually comes
through food and water, but exposure to animals is also a significant risk.
The
guidelines issued Thursday also included posting information at exhibits about
the risk of bacterial transmission, not serving raw milk, keeping food-and-drink
areas separate from animal-contact areas and urging high-risk visitors like the
elderly and pregnant women to use extra caution. |
