Ottawa ‘ready’ to help as Alberta daycare E.coli outbreak grows

Minister of Health Mark Holland says the government will help Alberta if needed, as the province grapples with an E.coli outbreak linked to multiple Calgary daycares.

Federal Health Minster Mark Holland says the government will step in to assist Alberta if required, as reports of E.coli cases from an outbreak at multiple daycares in Calgary continue to rise.

On Friday, Alberta Health Services (AHS) said there were 142 lab-confirmed cases linked to the outbreak, and 26 kids were stable in hospital. On Thursday, the outbreak included 128 lab-confirmed cases, and 25 patients were in hospital.

“We are thinking of all the children affected by the E.coli outbreak. We know this is an extremely stressful time for the parents and families impacted. We are ready and prepared to provide assistance to Alberta health partners as needed,” Holland told Global News.

The minister has not yet elaborated on how the government will help and when.

Calgary Zone medical officer of health Dr. Franco Rizzuti said 11 of the current hospitalized patients have more serious illness than the bloody diarrhea that is part of a Shiga toxin-producing E. coli infection, which includes hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) and other complications.

Rizzuti said a “small number” of kids were requiring dialysis, “however, this number is too small to provide for privacy reasons.” Dialysis machines were brought in from other AHS sites in case they are needed in the coming days.

Despite the daily rise in reported E.coli cases, Rizzuti says he expects case numbers to stabilize this weekend and into next week.

AHS has not yet identified a source of the infection. In total, 11 daycares have been shuttered “until issues are resolved.”