BALA CYNWYD, Pa. -- For years, families have visited Merrymead Farm in Montgomery County outside of Philadelphia to go on hay rides, eat homemade ice cream, buy fresh produce and pet the farm animals.
Now that a recent outbreak of the sometimes deadly E. coli infection has been traced to the farm, however, some parents are questioning the safety of allowing children to come in contact with animals at petting zoos, fairs and other hands-on places.
And the local health department has come under fire for not acting quickly enough to alert the public after several children became infected with E. coli bacteria after visiting Merrymead. The farm is located near Lansdale, Pa., approximately 20 miles from Philadelphia.
Children across the nation who have visited petting farms have become infected with E. coli, which can cause diarrhea, high fever, abdominal cramps and in the worst cases, kidney failure. Petting zoos are good breeding grounds for the disease, Chobi DebRoy, director of the Gastoenteric Disease Center at Penn State University, told the Associated Press.
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Parents "don't think about it when they take small children to a petting zoo but there are animals around and feces around and the children start eating something or start putting their fingers in their mouths," DebRoy said.
Sheila Carroll, whose 10-year-old daughter Bryn was one of the first to become ill after visiting Merrymead over Labor Day weekend, said she called the Montgomery County health department Sept. 15 to report Bryn's illness.
Merrymead owners said they first called the health department Sept. 25 to report that children had become visibly ill after visiting the farm and to seek direction on what to do. But it wasn't until Nov. 3 that Robert Gage, the county health director, publicly announced there was an E. coli outbreak and that the source appeared to be Merrymead Farm.
So far, there have been 15 confirmed and 42 probable cases of the toxic E. coli 0157:H7 infection associated with visits to Merrymead Farm since Sept. 1, said Mark Austerberry, community development coordinator for the Montgomery County health department.
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Almost all of those infected are children under 11 years old. Three of the children have been hospitalized and eight have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a severe complication of E. coli that can lead to the need for kidney dialysis or even a transplant in the most serious cases.
Given the delay in the public announcement of the outbreak, Montgomery County Commissioner Michael D. Marino has announced an investigation into the local health department's handling of the incident and has publicly chided it for not acting sooner. "If the health department knew certain things, they have an obligation to notify the public," said County Solicitor Steven T. O'Neill. "People are concerned, rightfully--the public has a right to this information."
Gage, who didn't return phone calls, has said he didn't report the outbreak sooner because of a state law requiring confidentiality of public health investigations.
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Richard McGarvey, spokesman for the Pennsylvania health department, said the law does allow for disclosure of information if it's necessary to carry out the "disease prevention and control" law in question. "Much of it comes down to professional judgment," McGarvey said.
Meanwhile, officials from the county and state health departments and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have been taking samples from all aspects of Merrymead Farm--including the water supply, food service facilities, farming operations and animal petting areas--to try to pinpoint the precise source of the E. coli contamination.
In a sad coincidence, the 4-day-old son of Merrymead owners Mark and Stacy Rothenberger died Oct. 10 as a result of sepsis, meningitis and E. coli, although the Rothenbergers in a statement said doctors assured them that their son had a different strain of E. coli than the one that sickened Merrymead visitors.
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Each year, about 73,000 persons in the United States become ill from the E. coli 0157:H7 strain, and about 61 die from the infection, according to the CDC. There are hundreds of other E. coli strains that are harmless.
E. coli bacteria live in the intestines of healthy cattle and are spread through ingestion of infected fecal matter. Most cases of E. coli have been associated with eating undercooked ground beef or drinking contaminated water or unpasteurized milk and juices, particularly apple cider. But there have been outbreaks in the last few years traced to a water park in Georgia and a county fair in upstate New York, where food and drink vendors used a contaminated underground water source, said CDC spokesman Tom Skinner.
As for the safety of visiting farms and other places with animals, Skinner said hand washing, especially after touching animals or changing diapers, is one of the most simple and effective ways to thwart the E. coli bacteria.
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Skinner said decisions about alerting the public to a known or potential E. coli outbreak are made on a case-by-case basis by health officials. "Sometimes it's a difficult decision public health officials have to make about notifying the public and making sure their information is correct and accurate," he said.
Carroll doesn't think the county health department could have done anything to help her daughter, since Bryn was one of the first to become ill. But she's angry the department ignored her phone call and waited so long to alert the public.
"At least the ones [who became ill] in the last few weeks could have been spared" if the health department had acted promptly, said Carroll, of Norristown, Pa.
Bryn, who made two emergency trips to the hospital, had violent, bloody diarrhea for days and developed kidney problems related to hemolytic uremic syndrome. "I wouldn't wish this on anybody." her mother said.
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