2 months ago
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The number of people sick with livestock parasites after visiting a petting zoo in Wales is now at least 74.
Eight-year-old Alba Dobbinson is among the dozens of people infected with cryptosporidium linked to calf and lamb feeding sessions at Marlborough Grange Farm in Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan.
Officials said 16 of them were ill enough to require treatment in hospital for at least one night.
The number is expected to rise over the coming days because the parasite typically incubates for some time before infecting its host.
Cryptosporidium symptoms include watery diarrhoea, stomach pains, nausea, mild fever, and loss of appetite and weight loss.
Public Health Wales said the farm shop had ended calf and lamb feeding and petting sessions and were ‘cooperating with our investigations’.
What is cryptosporidiosis?
Cryptosporidium is a parasite that can cause gastrointestinal illness.
It is often linked to contact with animals, particularly young farm animals such as calves and lambs.
It is also found in lakes, streams and rivers – and sometimes in swimming pools.
You can catch it directly by touching faeces and not washing your hands.
Occasionally you can be infected by eating and drinking contaminated food, particularly unpasteurised milk, under cook meat and offal.
The most common symptoms are watery diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach pains, and fever which may only last a couple of days, but which can continue for up to three or four weeks.
Who is most at risk of cryptosporidiosis?
Symptoms typically begin between two and 10 days after contact with the parasite and can last for up to two weeks.
Young children and people with weakened immune systems can be particularly vulnerable to the effects of the infection.
It can become very serious if anyone with a weakened immune system becomes infected.
How do you treat cryptosporidiosis?
There is no specific treatment, and those with a healthy immune system will recover within one month.
But drinking plenty of water and using painkillers can help ease symptoms and speed up recovery.
Doctors may even recommend re-hydration solutions.
Su Mably, consultant in health protection at Public Health Wales, said: ‘We are working closely with partners to investigate these cases and to understand if there is a wider risk to the public.
‘We would advise anyone who has visited the farm, particularly those who attended feeding or petting sessions, and who is now experiencing symptoms to contact their GP.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].
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