Nurseries closed in East Lothian E. coli outbreak

An E.coli outbreak has led to the closure of two East Lothian nurseries.

The Pear Tree Nursery in Church Road, Haddington has been linked to 28 cases of the bug. Most cases are reported to be mild - with some children in hospital in a stable condition.

Pear Tree's Meadowpark location in the town was also closed as a precaution after symptoms were reported.

NHS Lothian said a source had not been found, but tests were being done to identify the strain of the infection.

The health board said it had been working with the nursery for about 10 days.

Cases have been confined to the nursery, households of the children and close contacts.

Public health consultant Graham Mackenzie told BBC Scotland that mild stomach upsets at the Meadowpark location prompted its closure, but this was not confirmed to be E.coli.

Dr Richard Othieno, chairman of NHS Lothian's incident management team, said: "We know that this will be an anxious time for many of those who are directly affected by the infection.

"We have written to parents and carers of the children and to staff at the nursery to provide the most up-to-date information and ongoing health advice.

"NHS Lothian has a robust surveillance system in place to identify E. coli cases which helped us to identify these cases early and put in place essential control measures to prevent further spread.

"This outbreak reinforces the importance of washing hands regularly, particularly before eating or preparing food, and after going to the toilet."

He said NHS Lothian had encouraged parents to keep their children away from others until a negative test for E. coli was confirmed.

Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria are found in the intestines of humans and animals. There are many different types, some are harmless and others can cause a variety of diseases.

The bacterium is found in faeces and can survive in the environment.

E. coli bacteria can cause a range of infections including urinary tract infection, cystitis (infection of the bladder), and intestinal infection.

E. coli infections can be serious and often cause severe diarrhoea, sometimes with blood in it, abdominal cramps and fever.