The Department of Public Health in the Mid-West is handling an E.coli outbreak at a childcare facility and is reminding the public of the danger this bacteria can pose. 

Verotoxigenic E. coli (VTec) is a powerful strain of E.coli bacterium that lives in the gut of healthy cattle and sheep and can cause serious illness in the elderly and in children aged under five. 

The Mid-West public health department said the outbreak was under control but the incidence highlights the importance of hand hygiene and proper water treatment. 

VTec can be a source of food poisoning and can cause bowel inflammation leading to bloody diarrhea and severe stomach cramps. 

A specialist in public health said Ireland had one of the highest incidence rates of VTec in Europe and that the Mid-West region has one of the highest reported rates in the country. 

It underpins the importance of hand hygiene before and after preparing food, after contact with farm animals and their environment, and effective treatment and rehabilitation of private wells.