E.coli outbreak meat supply link

Caitlin Bray is having dialysis as a result of the E.coli infection

A link has been established between a meat supplier and the E.coli outbreak at more than two dozen south Wales schools, public health experts say.

The firm, John Tudor and Son, of Bridgend, supplies cooked meat to schools and council institutions.

The firm was not available for comment but had withdrawn all its products, Food Standards Agency Wales said.

The number of E.coli cases among schoolchildren in three council areas has grown again, to 56.

The food standards agency said it was possible that contaminated products may still be on the shelves of some stores because it believed that John Tudor and Son also supplied outlets that sold direct to consumers.

The agency has asked local authorities to ensure that all cooked meat products from the firm, delivered on or before 20 September, were removed.

On Wednesday Rhondda Cynon Taf council confirmed the number of casualties had risen again, from seven at the weekend, to almost double the normal annual figure for Wales.

AMONG 25 SCHOOLS AFFECTED Primary: Abertaf; Blaengwawr; Bedlinog; Pengeulan; Capcoch; Caradog; Upper Rhymney; Comin; YGG Llwyncelyn; Cwmdare; Aberdare Town Church School; Troedyrhiw; Rhigos; Glenboi; Maesycoed; Cwmlai; Hirwaun; Parc Lewis Infants: Cwmbach; Penygraig; Cynon Secondary: Pen y Dre; St John the Baptist; Archbishop McGrath; Ysgol Pen Yr Englyn

The National Public Health Service had said they expected numbers to rise as the outbreak reached its peak.

On Wednesday, schools in Tonyrefail, Treherbert, Hirwaun and Treforest have revealed new cases of E.coli which causes severe symptoms of food poisoning.

A three-year-old nursery pupil at Penygraig school in the Rhondda is one of the most seriously ill.

Caitlin Bray has developed a severe complication hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) which kills red blood cells and can cause kidney failure. She is receiving kidney dialysis at Bristol Children's hospital.

Her mother Lisa Bray, from Tonypandy - who has contracted E.coli herself - is among parents who have criticised the authorities' failure to close the schools which have been hit in an attempt to contain the outbreak.

Tests have shown school canteens did not harbour the infection

"All I've done is cry," she said. "We were just devastated when they told us, but now I'm quite angry and I'm certainly going to be pursuing an explanation.

"They should have closed the schools and instigated some kind of cleaning regime. Let's stop this bug now in its tracks."

Another mother at Penygraig, Tracey Bowen, said her five-year-old son Jordan became ill on Friday but is now back home.

"I think they should have shut the schools. It's all right saying they have cleaned it, but it can spread through the children.

"So I reckon they should shut the schools and make sure the children are all right before they all go back to school."

Incubation period

Mike Keating, Rhondda Cynon Taf's education director, said staff had worked throughout the weekend once the outbreak was confirmed to be able to inform parents by letter on Monday.

"Our view has always been that we should keep the schools open and that was supported by the medical team.

Public health officials had earlier ruled out school canteens as the source of the outbreak.

But Dr Roland Salmon from the National Public Health Service earlier warned the number of cases could still rise, with an incubation period of up to 14 days.

"We now feel much more confident that the measures we set in place at the weekend should protect children and we will therefore be encouraging people to put their children in school," he added.

Helpline

Health service figures show that there are usually 30 cases of E.coli food poisoning a year in Wales.

Sources of E.coli include handling raw meat, eating undercooked meat, consuming untreated milk or dairy products, direct contact with animals, or close contact with another infected person.

The condition is described as a serious form of food poisoning and symptoms can range from mild diarrhoea to abdominal cramps and blood in the stools.

A helpline has been set up with five lines, on 029 2040 2520, open from 0900 to 2100 BST every day until Friday.