Alberta premier orders review of shared kitchens in Calgary amid E. coli outbreak
CBC
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said a central kitchen believed to be linked to an E. coli outbreak in Calgary that has made hundreds of children sick has been closed indefinitely, and she has ordered a review of all shared kitchens that serve daycares in the city.
Smith also said she will be offering a one-time payment of $2,000 to parents of children who have been affected by the outbreak, and called on the affected daycares to reimburse parents for any fees incurred while the children were unable to attend daycare.
"I assure you we will get to the bottom of this, we will identify the cause, and we will put in place the necessary measures to ensure this does not happen again."
This comes after an outbreak of the shiga toxin-producing E. coli, which can cause serious issues. The outbreak has sent children to hospital and some are on dialysis after developing hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a disease which affects the kidneys.
Health officials have said it's likely the source of the outbreak is linked to a shared kitchen that provided food to the affected daycares, but the cause of the outbreak remains unidentified.
Smith became emotional during the media conference Friday, and said the only comfort she can offer is that each sick child is getting the best possible care.
"It's unimaginable pain and I'm heartbroken by what these families are going through."
Dr. Mark Joffe, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, said the situation remains very serious, but they are "heartened" by the fact that the number of patients in hospital has stabilized.
As of Friday, there were 337 lab-confirmed cases of E. coli in connection with the outbreak. Ten patients have HUS and six are receiving dialysis.
There are also 26 secondary transmission cases in households linked to the outbreak. Additionally, there was one child who has tested positive for E. coli who did not attend one of the implicated daycares. The affected area of the daycare that child attends has been closed.
Joffe said that child came to the emergency department over the September long weekend.
More to come...
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