E.coli scare parents meet experts

E.coli girl fit for closed school

Parents of pupils at a school after a suspected E.coli case have been given advice and reassurance from health officials dealing with the outbreak.

At meetings on Friday and Saturday, parents were issued with home testing kits for their children.

Glenboi Primary School, Mountain Ash, was closed after bloody diarrhoea was found in the boys' toilets.

The affected child has still not been traced, but pupils are expected to start returning to school on Tuesday.

A spokesman for the outbreak control team said: "We haven't seen a case of anyone catching the infection person-to-person within a school which shows that our control measures have been effective in reducing the spread."

Since the south Wales E.coli outbreak began almost two weeks ago, 156 people have fallen ill and one boy has died.

Tests issued

Glenboi was closed as a precaution on Thursday evening on the advice of public health officials when the child showing the symptoms of E.coli could not be identified.

Chris Morgan, acting head teacher at the school, said: "Because we don't know who the person is, we can't remove that person from school...so it was decided it was best to close the school."

Police officers sealed off John Tudor and Son, of Bridgend, on Friday

The school is due to reopen next week and Mr Morgan added that pupils would be allowed back only when they returned negative tests for E.coli.

The outbreak control team, which has monitored cases of E.coli since the bacterium was first detected in south Wales on 18 September, met parents at Glenboi primary on Friday evening, where home testing kits were issued.

Sian Jones, whose three-year-old son Lewis is a pupil at Glenboi, said after the meeting: "They haven't said a lot about the tests, more about how to avoid it - about hygiene and things like that.

"I've been keeping an eye on my son anyway - I'm not really worried about it but I want to get him tested so I'm reassured."

There was a second meeting between officials and parents at the school, which is the first to be closed since the outbreak began, on Saturday.

Early on Tuesday, five-year-old Mason Jones, from Deri, Bargoed, became the first person to die in the outbreak. He died in Bristol Children's Hospital, where he had been transferred after suffering renal problems.

Criminal investigation

On Friday, South Wales Police said a post mortem examination had confirmed Mason Jones died of E.coli poisoning.

Also on Friday, the premises of a meat supplier linked to the outbreak of E.coli was sealed off by police.

There have been 156 E.coli cases detected involving 42 schools

Officers are guarding John Tudor and Son, in Bridgend, after launching a criminal investigation.

The supplier has been linked by the outbreak control team to the infection, although the firm has said tests carried out on its premises have proved negative.

A South Wales Police spokesman said: "We have sealed off the meat suppliers because it is a potential crime scene.

"An officer has been on preservation and security duties since we announced we were launching a criminal investigation."

Their investigation will consider whether there is "criminal culpability" in Mason Jones' death and the outbreak.

The outbreak control team has re-opened its helpline to provide advice and information to parents between 0900 BST and 1700 BST on 029 2040 2520.