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Farm visits: hand washing facilities must be near sites of animal contact
Sep
Minimising infection risks from animal contact at visitor attractions
A 2013 outbreak of Cryptosporidium parvum was tracked to a lamb petting event that took place over several days in the south west area of England. A recently published report has indicated that a lack of hand washing facilities at the point of need was a significant contributing factor, according to a recent report on the Food Safety News website.
The report by Joe Whitworth clearly identifies the source of the outbreak comprising of 23 lab confirmed cases, alongside 83 cases of a “cryptosporidiosis-like illness”.
“The primary hypothesis was that exposure to lambs within designated petting pens was the source of Cryptosporidium.”
Those who came into physical contact with a lamb at the farm were deemed to be “more likely” to subsequently display cryptosporidiosis-like symptoms says a quoted study which was published in the Epidemiology and Infection Journal.
Hand washing facilities must be placed where they’re needed!
There is, writes Whitworth, a Code of Practice within the industry with the stated aim of “minimizing infection risks from animal contact at visitor attractions.”
Youngsters were allowed into the pen and allowed to bottle feed and pet 1 of 4 lambs, while parents and carers looked on says the article. The subsequent problems arose not because hand washing facilities weren’t present or under utilised, but that they were simply not located where they should have been – at the point of need where they would have delivered the most benefit.
“Although handwashing facilities and signage were present, they were not near the sites of animal contact, which potentially reduced their use and effectiveness, said scientists.”
It’s vital that visitors and staff should also be aware of potential health risks from farm visits, researchers were quoted as saying. They called for “an improved understanding for the public on both the risks of disease transmission during animal petting activities and the symptoms to act upon post-exposure”.
40 of the cases reported were children under 18 years of age.
Animal contact linked to large Cryptosporidium outbreak »
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