The number of lab-confirmed cases linked to an E. coli outbreak in Calgary-area daycares has nearly doubled.
Dr. Franco Rizzuti, Calgary Zone medical officer of health, said, as of Wednesday afternoon, there are now 96 lab-confirmed cases, a significant jump from the 56 reported on Tuesday.
More children have also been hospitalized; 22 are in hospital, seven more than yesterday. Sixteen of the kids are at the Alberta Children’s Hospital while six are at the pediatric ward of the Peter Lougheed Centre.
Rizzuti said a “handful” of children in hospital have developed more serious outcomes of their Shiga toxin-producing E. coli infection. He did not provide details on what those more serious outcomes were or how many, but noted that hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is among the possibilities.
Alberta Health Services (AHS) confirmed a “small number” of patients are confirmed as having HUS and are stable, receiving the appropriate level of care.
According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health, HUS is a kidney condition where the filtering properties of those organs is blocked by destroyed red blood cells. That can result in acute kidney injury – the sudden and temporary loss of kidney function – and can result in needing dialysis.
Rizzuti said the Alberta Children’s Hospital is prepared to treat children who may develop more severe illness, including HUS.
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AHS has not yet identified a source of the infection. The Calgary Zone MOH said health inspectors were at the central kitchen linked to all of the daycares on Tuesday, taking food samples for futher testing.
Rizzuti noted that when he declared the outbreak over the weekend, following multiple reports from hospitals of children with bloody diarrhea, the kitchen was in compliance with health inspections.
Not all of the eleven daycares that were closed had lab-confirmed cases linked to them, but Rizzuti said it’s “still early days.” He said these locations were all closed due to their links to the central kitchen:
- Fueling Brains Braeside
- Fueling Brains West 85th
- Fueling Brains New Brighton
- Fueling Brains Centennial
- Fueling Brains Bridgeland
- Fueling Brains McKnight
- Braineer Academy
- Kidz Space
- Little Oak Early Education (formerly Mangrove)
- Almond Branch School
- Vik Academy in Okotoks
“Our staff are working very closely with the operators who have been terrific partners in managing this outbreak and communicating with the parents,” Rizzuti said.
AHS also launched a webpage for parents with more information about the outbreak investigation.
And stool sample collection kits have been made available to all of the daycares for parents and children, to test for E. coli.
To prevent the spread of E. coli, AHS recommends handwashing after going to the bathroom, before and after food preparation, after changing diapers and before eating. Thorough washing of fruits and vegetables, proper cleaning and sanitization of surfaces that touch raw meat, and cooking beef and pork to at least 71 C (160 F) are also recommended.