Federal Health Minster Mark Holland stated that the government is prepared to assist Alberta if necessary as reports of an E.coli outbreak in multiple daycares in Calgary continue to increase.
As of Friday, Alberta Health Services (AHS) reported 142 lab-confirmed cases linked to the outbreak, with 26 children in stable condition at the hospital. On Thursday, there were 128 lab-confirmed cases, and 25 patients were hospitalized.
Holland expressed sympathy for the children affected by the outbreak and their families, stating that the government is ready to provide assistance to Alberta health partners as needed, without providing further details.
Calgary Zone medical officer of health Dr. Franco Rizzuti revealed that 11 of the hospitalized patients have more severe symptoms than the typical bloody diarrhea associated with a Shiga toxin-producing E. coli infection, including hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) and other complications.
Rizzuti mentioned that a small number of children required dialysis, but did not disclose the exact number for privacy reasons. Dialysis machines were brought in from other AHS sites in case they are needed in the coming days.
Despite the increasing number of reported E.coli cases, Rizzuti expects the numbers to stabilize over the weekend and into the following week.
AHS has not yet identified the source of the infection. As a result, 11 daycares have been temporarily closed “until the issues are resolved.”
Rizzuti stated that the number of cases is consistent with the theory that a central kitchen, which provides food to multiple locations, is the origin of the outbreak.
The health officer noted that when he declared the outbreak over the weekend, the kitchen in question was in compliance with health inspections, even though documents on the Alberta Health Services website revealed that the Fueling Brains Academy Kitchen and one of the Fueling Brains daycare locations had previously violated public health regulations related to food handling.
A professor of pediatrics and emergency medicine, Dr. Stephen Freedman, described this outbreak as “very unusual.”
“This is probably the largest outbreak in children under five years of age associated with a single source,” he said on Friday.
“Within this past week, we’ve seen numbers that we would typically see over a four-year period,” Freedman added.
E.coli stands for Escherichia coli, a type of fecal coliform bacteria. According to microbiologist and author Jason Tetro, the bacteria is commonly found in animal and human feces and can survive in various environments.
The bacteria spreads through the fecal matter of infected animals or humans, contaminating hands or food that eventually enters people’s mouths.
Adults infected with E.coli usually experience stomach cramps and dehydration, while children are more susceptible to severe complications due to their vulnerability to toxins.
“In the event that a child contracts a toxin
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