Tag Archives: Day Care

E. coli hits third day care in Washington

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Maybe it’s the summer interns, but reporters in Washington state should know that E. coli O157:H7 is a bacterium, not a virus. The crap that passes for journalism.

Whatever it’s called, two children at a third day care operation in Kittitas County are suspected of having contracted E. coli (not a virus, as repeatedly stated in this story).

The third facility, Foursquare Church Daycare and Preschool in Ellensburg, will remain closed through Friday, said Amy Diaz, spokeswoman for Kittitas County Public Health.

Eight youngsters have been confirmed to have the virus bacterium since the first case was reported June 25. Six additional cases are suspected, with test results pending.

E. coli cases in Washington state prompt closure of two child care facilities

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We’ve got the best babysitter for Sorenne. We had two, but one went to France. The other is an early childhood development student, incredibly outgoing, and entertains Sorenne from 8-12 a.m. weekday mornings.

There are lots of great day cares and child care centers out there. But they need to be the bug, to think about how dangerous microorganisms move around in the environment, involving care givers, kids, food and poop.

Over the past week, one confirmed and two suspected E. coli illness cases have been reported to the Kittitas County Public Health Department. The confirmed case, a 5-year old Ellensburg resident, does not attend a child care facility. This child was hospitalized and has since recovered. The two suspected cases, siblings, attend Creative Kids Learning Center and Little Tot Town child care facilities, both in Ellensburg.

During a public health investigation, staff discovered that there are multiple other children and staff members with symptoms of the illness. Since some people with E. coli will have mild symptoms or no symptoms at all, and there is the potential for person-to-person spread of the illness, Kittitas County Health Officer Dr. Mark Larson is requiring a temporary closure of both facilities, effective immediately.

“We understand that the temporary closure of Creative Kids Learning Center and Little Tot Town will create a hardship for working parents. The decision was not made lightly. We believe that temporarily closing these facilities is the best option to protect the health of these children,” said Dr. Larson. An outbreak of E. coli in April 2010 associated with a child care facility in Clark County, Washington resulted in the hospitalization of four children, including one who died from the illness.

Children who attend Creative Kids Learning Center or Little Tot Town will not be able to attend any child care facility until they have two tests showing they are free of illness. These tests must be given at least 24 hours apart. Testing will be free for children who attend either of the affected child care facilities, and test kits can be picked up at the Kittitas Valley Community Hospital laboratory at any time.
 

Aunt of E. coli victim wants answers from county about lousy response

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The Columbian reported today that the aunt of 4-year-old Ronan Wilson (right), who died April 8 after contracting E. coli at his Hazel Dell in-home day care in Washington state, wants to know why the Clark County Department of Health did not let the public know about the outbreak until the day after Ronan died.

Savenia Falquist also questions why the day care children and their siblings continued attending school, possibly putting other children at risk, and why the health department did not at least alert health care providers about the outbreak.

When Ronan’s mother first took him to a doctor on March 29, the doctor did not think it was necessary to test for E. coli and diagnosed Ronan with the flu. Other parents of children at the day care have said they initially had difficulty getting doctors to approve a stool test, the only way to test for E. coli.

Falquist told Clark County commissioners at their monthly Board of Health meeting Wednesday that she’s trying to educate herself on the county’s policies for informing the public about communicable diseases, adding after the meeting,

“The intention is not to go after a county department that’s funded by the public. What I really want to do is rule out complacency.”

John Wiesman, the director of the health department, said the county typically only issues public health warnings when health officials can’t personally contact those potentially affected by a health threat. For example, a news release would be issued if a food services worker tested positive for hepatitis A and the county would have to warn people who ate at the worker’s restaurant.

A provider alert was not sent out about the E. coli outbreak at the day care because owners Larry and Dianne Fletch had contact information for all of the parents whose children attended the center, Wiesman said.

Wow. That’s terrible accountability. Alerts also raise awareness and provide lessons for others – oh, and may prevent people from getting sick. Maybe not directly, but it could enhance the conversations and culture surrounding food safety if others knew, oh, kids can get E. coli O157:H7 at day care.

A total of 14 people at the day care tested positive for E. coli O157:H7 bacteria. Three were hospitalized and 10 people had mild symptoms.

Children who tested positive were not allowed to go to a day care until they had two negative stool samples, 24 hours apart, Melnick said Wednesday. He said older children at the center or older siblings of children at the day care were still allowed to go to school because there aren’t the same concerns about transmitting the bacteria with older children. There aren’t diapers being changed, for example.

“The kids are older, and their hygiene is better,” Melnick said.

Any evidence to back up that statement?

State revokes license of day care where boy contracted fatal E. coli

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The Washington-state home day care identified as the source of an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak that led to three children being hospitalized and the death of 4-year-old Ronan Wilson earlier this year has had its license revoked by the state.

The Columbian reports that Dianne and Larry Fletch had operated the day care for more than 20 years; their license was suspended in April while the state proceeded with an investigation.

The Department of Early Learning sent Dianne Fletch a seven-page letter explaining its decision to revoke her license. The letter was dated May 21, but the state announced the revocation on Thursday after receiving confirmation from the Fletches that they had received the letter, which had been sent by registered mail.

Larry Fletch said he and his wife will appeal the decision.

30 sick with Shigella in Daviess Co., Kentucky

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News25 reports the Green River District Health Department is confirming 30 cases of the bacteria illness called Shigella in Daviess County. Now, the Kentucky Department of Public Health is getting involved.

"We haven’t seen anything like this in a while," said GRDHD Regional Epidemiologist Janie Cambron.

NEWS 25 was the first to report health officials were investigating cases of Shigella in Daviess County. Since last Thursday, the number of confirmed cases jumped from 15 to 30. Health officials say none however stem from this past weekend’s Bar-B-Q fest where extra hand sanitizer were distributed.

Two other counties in the state are also reporting high numbers of Shigella. Prompting the state to become part of the investigation.

Of the 30 confirmed cases in Daviess County, 27 are with kids ages 13 and younger. Cambron says she’s talked with many concerned parents asking if their kids should stay home. If they attend a childcare center, they must be symptom free for 24 hours before returning.

Wash hands.

There’s a lot of poop moving around Kansas City transferring Shigella with it

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The Kansas City Missouri Health Department reports the metro area has seen some 300 cases of Shigellosis this year – when there usually are a dozen.

Jeff Hershberger said 75 per cent of the nearly 300 cases in the KC area have involved children 10-years-old and younger, and that the bacterium targets daycare centers, adding,

"People are usually good at washing their own hands after changing a diaper. But, they don’t remember to wash the child’s hands."

And those same children can then possibly spread those germs to you at your local supermarket. They can spread those germs by touching produce.

Washington parents ask: what can be learned from our child’s E. coli death?

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I’m going to the doctor’s for my annual check-up on Tuesday. I know I don’t exercise enough anymore, so I have high blood pressure; I’m old; I’m tired; having babies at 47 doesn’t keep one young, it keeps one old and tired. I’ve got other issues, like some form of motion sickness that makes me barf, but we won’t get into that. And I’m not sure there’s much the doctor can tell me. My problems are trivial.

The Oregonian reports that Bonnie Wilson took her sick 4-year-old, Ronan (right) , to the pediatrician on Monday, March 29. She says she told the doctor that another child in Ronan’s day care had been hospitalized with the potentially deadly bacteria E. coli O157:H7. But Ronan’s symptoms didn’t fit that diagnosis.
The doctor suspected the sandy-haired, hazel-eyed boy had the flu and sent Wilson home with instructions to keep a close eye on him.

Guess Bonnie was supposed to use those magic goggles that let her see bacteria.

Ronan improved briefly, but that Thursday he was back at Evergreen Pediatric Clinic in Vancouver, dehydrated, constipated and so weak he needed help sitting up. The clinic sent him to Southwest Washington Medical Center for tests, and just as he arrived, his symptoms took a horrifying turn — one that, in the end, changed the lives of everyone who knew Ronan Allen "Ro-Ro" Wilson.

On Saturday, a week after their boy’s funeral, Bonnie and Anthony Wilson told their story. They want others to know the loving, curious, ambitious child they lost and to learn from their experience. They don’t want another family to ever endure what they did.

The story goes on to say that a thousand questions remain, including: How did the E. coli outbreak start? Should doctors and public-health officials have done anything differently when children became ill? Will they do anything differently in the future? …

The Wilsons hope that sharing their story will raise awareness about E. coli. They hope doctors and public-health officials will always act swiftly to inform the public about outbreaks. And they wonder whether Ronan might be alive if he’d been diagnosed sooner.
 

Day care with E. coli outbreak still closed

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A Vancouver, Wash., day care center remains closed after a deadly outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 killed a 4-year-old boy and sickened three other children.

Turns out the Fletch Family Daycare was closed on April 2 but decided to go ahead and still care for a child.

The center won’t be allowed to reopen – even if health officials clear it – until the state completes its investigation.

An owner said the boy who showed up at the center after it was closed was there for only a short time and there was no risk to him.

Except if investigators don’t know where the E. coli came from, who knows if there was a risk to the kid or not. Why do people say such things?

So sad: child dies in Washington E. coli outbreak

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That E. coli O157:H7 outbreak linked to a Vancouver, Washington day care has taken the life of a child.

It’s a little overwhelming as 16-month-old Sorenne nuzzles next to me while trying to go back to sleep. Usually me typing on the computer or talking on the phone bores her into sleepdom.

“We are deeply saddened by the tragic death of this child,” said Dr. Alan Melnick, Clark County Health Officer. “Our hearts go out to the child’s family during this very difficult time.”

Officials said the seven people who work or attend the center displayed signs of E. coli bacteria but haven’t become seriously ill. So far, investigators haven’t been able to identify the source of the bacteria.

In a statement, the day care providers said Friday they’re grieving and are "still overwhelmed by this tragic loss."

Four Oregon children hospitalized in day care E. coli outbreak

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Amy’s anxious.

For the first time in Sorenne’s 16 months, Amy is going away for a couple of days, leaving me and the kid to par–ty.

Amy and a colleague left early this morning for Montreal and the Northeast Modern Language Association annual meeting, or NeMLA. Every time she says NeMLA, I say NAMBLA. It never gets old.

I was chatting with the neighbors yesterday about how fortunate we are. We have two students provide 20 hours of child care for Sorenne – the most loved child in the world – in our house. And contrary to the expectations, Sorenne is exceedingly social. If we wanted 20 hours of day care, we’d have to pay for 40 – full-time. The U.S. has some weirdness, like 6 weeks of maternity leave. We’re fortunate.

Not so the kids at a day care center in Clark County, Washington, which has been temporarily shut down after four kids were hospitalized with E. coli O157:H7.

The Oregonian cited Dr. Alan Melnick, Clark County’s public health officer, as saying the health department learned of the first hospitalization on March 19. Soon after, three other children required hospitalization. Investigators tested stool samples from 22 children and four adult caregivers at the day care and found six carrying the O157:H7 strain but not showing symptoms.

The day care will remain closed until the affected staff show no presence of the bacteria on two consecutive tests conducted at least a day apart, Melnick said. Children who tested positive have to meet the same criteria before being allowed to attend any daycare or school.