This whole e-coli farm thing...

[BumbleB]

But how would you feel if you had been a parent and had taken a child to a farm. You had observed strict hygiene codes and still your child became seriously ill? I think it is unfair to assume that parents had not had their children wash their hands regularly. As was said earlier, children have always played in dirt. The farms in question obviously have a infection on site and this is the reason.

[Alice]

I don't think we can just jump in and blame the parents of the infected children for failing to ensure their children washed their hands. Maybe they did wash their hands but their own hands are not the only things to carry germs.
There's the sleeves and cuffs of their own jackets
Anything they touched that had been contaminated by other people
The fences and rails round the enclosures
Their own shoes and anything they touched after they got home
The list is endless.
And there is the point that to be effective hand washing has to be done properly.
I watch people washing their hands and they miss out thumbs, fingertips, between fingers and palms.
I do think there is something going on with this strain of e coli that we don't understand yet. Until things are clearer I think I would follow Prof Penningtons advice and not take young children to petting farms.

[ginger ninger]

When I was little my mum use to send us to play with the kids that had mumps, chicken spots etc so we could in her words "get them out of the way", there was no Anti-bacterial sprays/wipes then. I use to help muck out the cows across the road from our house when I was a kid, I use to eat my sandwich with the farmer in the cow sheds...Now even that would be wrong, not just me on the farm, but being with the farmer in the cow shed..He would have to have had a criminal check before I was allowed near him, the worlds gone mad. My heart goes out to the parents of the children affected, but it also goes out to the farmers

[Hazel at the Hill]

I think that even the harshest risk assessment would conclude that the for all the thousands (hundreds of thousands?) of visitors to animal farms, the number of instances of illness is pretty tiny.

(I do appreciate that this is not a comfort to the handful of parents whos children are not well at the mo because of this)

I mean, crossing the road has a risk associated, but when someone gets run over, you don't close all the roads, do you?

You balance a risk against the benefit.

I think someone earlier in the thread coined the natty phrase 'common sense'...

[pdblake]

Is it all a bit of an over reaction?

In this country? Don't be daft

[Lovage]

I think immune systems are not what they used to be, in super hygenic houses with super hygenic nonexposure to germs mean those kids are super sensitive to bugs.

I agree!
Someone on Farming Today ( Radio 4, early) was saying the kids who grow up on the farms never seem to have any problems!

[Sue]

Ginger Ninger
Me too, have had every childhood illness this way. Alternatively if you got it first, they would come round to yours. Also my parents were not keen on us having injections either so didn't have that protection.
Although recently when I hurt my foot on the allotment my doctor was horrified to find out I didn't have tetanus and made me have the course.

I have heard that asthma is increasing because of all the hyper cleaning with ghastly chemicals that goes on in a lot of households now, I suppose this could have something to do with external factors, but would be interested to hear the whole story behind the problems of the petting farm.

The next stage will be that they close down because all the regulations become too much like PYO Farms especially as that woman sued (didn't she fall down a ditch or something?) So we'll all lose out.

Sue

[jackie j]

So does this mean that under fives shouldnt touch any of their own pets, cats, dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs, mice, gerbils the list is endless. Do they all wash their hands afterwards, I bet not, I know my own kids would have escaped hand washing if they could.

[hamsterqueen]

I agree a huge overreaction, why can no-one take responsibity for themselves these days?

just as likely to have been passed on by people not washing their hands after the loo.

I am amazed at how many people don;t wash their hands , but just walk straight out.

Yours
curmudgeonly old git
of Kent!

[smallblueplanet]

F**k it! I've never used this phrase before, but I am fed-up of the NANNY State that exists in this country - common sense & responsibilty please.

[petal]

I think immune systems are not what they used to be, in super hygenic houses with super hygenic nonexposure to germs mean those kids are super sensitive to bugs.

I so agree, when a little girl stayed with us recently she went home and developed a stomach bug - her parents immediately phoned up to tell us and without 'accusing' us suggested it was our animals that had caused it. oh for goodness sake - let the kid eat some dirt and build up an immune system!!!!!!

[beefy]

F**k it! I've never used this phrase before, but I am fed-up of the NANNY State that exists in this country - common sense & responsibilty please.

You and I have our disagreements Manda but this time I have to agree with you. I'm a farmers son and was brought up on a farm with animals , spent most of my life up to my eyes in s**t and never had any problems . Personal hygeine , washing hands as soon as you can ,always before meals and at the end of the day taking a good shower or bath to get all the s**t out of you hair (or anywhere else it may have gotten ).
The Great British public / press overreacting ? it must be a slow news week

[HeyWayne]

The Great British public / press overreacting ? it must be a slow news week

No no, it hasn't - there was the whole debacle regarding the X-Factor and Strictly. I mean imagine it - some people had to make a decision about watching teleprogrammes, and in some cases they were forced - forced I tell you to miss one of teh programmes if they chose the other one to watch!?!!!

Imagine it.

[di]

Thankfully it's only Strictly & not the ice skating one...then we'd have been totally stuffed...was bad enough The Cube & Merlin crossed over!

Personnally I think it's more a case of news "they" don't want us to notice.....eg,Ed Balls proudly announcing he can cut 2 billion pounds on spending in Education!.....but I noticed!

[HeyWayne]

Personnally I think it's more a case of news "they" don't want us to notice.....eg,Ed Balls proudly announcing he can cut 2 billion pounds on spending in Education!.....but I noticed!

Sorry, who?