Officials said another case had been confirmed since Wednesday and three children remained in hospital in a stable condition on Friday evening. All those affected had visited Godstone Farm, near Redhill. The farm closed on 12 September after the outbreak emerged. The first link to infection was dated back to 8 August. Tests carried out confirmed that the E.coli bug was in animal droppings.
Four other farms have since closed, or partially closed, including Godstone’s sister farm, Horton Park in Epsom, Surrey. The others are White Post Farm in Nottinghamshire, the World of Country Life farm, in Exmouth, Devon, and Big Sheep And Little Cow Farm in Bedale, North Yorkshire.
An independent investigation into the outbreak, and the response to it, has been started by the HPA. The HPA said on Wednesday the inquiry would be led by George Griffin, professor of infectious diseases at St George’s, University of London.
In 2004 I gave a speech on the risks of petting zoos and E. coli – seems like the information did not make it to England. I also put up a website – www.fair-safety.com as a place to showcase outbreaks and how to prevent them. I now need to update it.
