Safety at Petting Zoos: Avoiding E. coli Infections
Recent cases of E. coli infection among children who visited a petting zoo have raised awareness of the dangers and safety measures to reduce the risk for transmission. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), people usually get E. coli infections from "eating undercooked, contaminated ground beef." Other means of infection include "person to person contact in families and child care centers," drinking raw milk, swimming in or drinking contaminated water, or having contact with infected farm animals.
To reduce the risk in locations where the public may come in contact with farm animals, the CDC recommends the following safety measures:
- inform visitors about the risks for tranmission of enteric pathogens from farm animals to humans;
- design the layout of venues to minimize risk;
- include adequate handwashing facilities;
- do not permit hand-mouth activities (eating, drinking, smoking, carrying toys and pacifiers) in interaction areas;
- observe heightened precaution for high risk individuals (children under five years, elderly, pregnant women, HIV/AIDS victims;
- do not serve raw milk.
These precautions don't mean that you cannot take your child to a petting zoo, but you should take steps to be informed and do so safely.