Escherichia coli O157 incident associated with a farm open to members of the public.

Three children, one who lived on an open farm and two who visited the farm in school parties, developed Vero cytotoxin producing Escherichia coli (VTEC) O157 infection in 1997. All had been in direct contact with animals. All were admitted to hospital with diarrhoea and two developed the haemolytic uraemic syndrome, one of whom developed severe neurological impairment.

A large outbreak of cryptosporidiosis associated with a public water supply from a deep chalk borehole. Outbreak Investigation Team.

Three hundred and forty-five confirmed cases were reported in a large waterborne outbreak of cryptosporidiosis in North Thames in the spring of 1997. The descriptive epidemiology, attack rates, a case control study, and the detection of oocysts in the water suggested strongly that the outbreak was associated with drinking unboiled tap water that originated from one deep chalk borehole. The 746,000 people living in the water distribution area were advised to boil their drinking water.