Like all good parents I made a play set for the four girls growing up in Ontario.

The bottom contained a sandpit, or as the cats referred to it, a giant litter box.

It was disgusting and soon the girls wouldn’t have anything to do with it.

Budding microbiologists.

A Salmonella java case has prompted a childcare centre on the northern beaches in Australia to close its sand pits.

A spokesperson for Northern Sydney Public Health Unit confirmed a child who attended a centre on the Northern Beaches was found to be infected with the bacteria strain.

“The routine practice in such cases is to advise the child care centre to close any sandpits on the premises,” the spokesperson said.

“The Public Health Unit then tests the sand and if it proves positive for Salmonella java the child care centre is advised to remove the sand and replace it before reopening the sandpit.”

The latest case comes after a public health warning linking Salmonella java to bandicoot droppings in May this year.

In February 2013, Mona Vale’s Apex Park was temporarily closed following several cases of gastroenteritis in children caused by the Salmonella java bacteria, reopening in September.