Concerns mount after E. coli outbreak at Calgary daycares

Concerns have arisen after Alberta Health Services (AHS) said around 50 children are in hospital in connection with an E.coli outbreak declared at six locations of a Calgary daycare operator.

The provincial health delivery agency says 17 lab-confirmed cases have been linked to the outbreak, as well as 12 individuals hospitalized and up to 50 children presenting to hospital.

Eleven daycares have been hit by the outbreak, with the other five being in Okotoks. The daycares are six Fuelings Brains daycares, Braineer Academy, Kidz Space, Little Oak Early Education, Almond Branch School, and Vik Academy in Okotoks. They all have been issued closure orders.

AHS says all facilities use the same kitchen where the foodborne illness was first detected.

Katie Hopkins, whose two children attend the Fueling Brains daycare in New Brighton, says they were diagnosed on Sunday after dealing with three days of symptoms.

She had been warned of a gastrointestinal outbreak earlier that week, and both she and AHS are urging parents to monitor for symptoms, the most prevalent being diarrhea, sometimes bloody.

“What triggered us to get the girls looked at is the length of it that it had been four days, and there was zero signs of it getting better. So with young kids, it triggered us to get our children looked at regardless,” she told CityNews.

She says the communication from AHS has been confusing but is overall pleased with the communication from the agency.

“I understand they’re just trying to figure it out as well, and they have the kid’s best interests in mind,” Hopkins said.

Read More: Calgary E. coli outbreak connected to daycare sites sends dozens of kids to hospital

In a statement, Lois Garcia, the vice president of operations for Fueling Brains, said her deepest concerns and empathy are with everyone impacted by the outbreak and that a deep cleaning of the facilities could take anywhere from two days to a week.

“Our deepest concerns and empathy are with every affected family, child, and staff member during this challenging period,” Garcia wrote.

“We are rigorously searching for any common factors leading to this outbreak. Additionally, we’ve closed our Calgary schools for deep cleaning, which is estimated to last between 48 hours to one week.”

Diarrhea, which may be bloody, is the predominant symptom associated with E. coli. Symptoms usually start one to 10 days after eating food contaminated with the E. coli bacteria.

AHS said the majority of people who get sick from E. coli generally improve on their own and without specific treatment within 10 days, but a proportion may develop more severe complications.

-With files from The Canadian Press