A microbiologist points out an isolated E. coli growth on an agar plate from a patient specimen at the Washington State Dept. of Health on Nov. 3, 2015, in Shoreline, Wash. An official for six Calgary daycares closed due to an E. coli outbreak says a deep cleaning of the facilities could take anywhere from two days to a week.Elaine Thompson/The Associated Press
Fifteen children have been hospitalized after an E. coli outbreak at nearly a dozen Calgary daycares that share a central kitchen, according to Alberta’s health authority.
Fifty-six lab-confirmed cases of the bacterial infection, typically spread through contaminated food, have been linked to the outbreak, up from 17 on Monday, according to Alberta Health Services in an update provided Tuesday. It said up to 50 children have come to hospitals with symptoms, predominantly bloody diarrhea.
All sites have been ordered by the health authority to close until the situation is resolved. Affected daycares include six Fueling Brains locations – Braeside, West 85th, New Brighton, Centennial, Bridgeland and McKnight – as well as Braineer Academy, Kidz Space, Little Oak Early Education, Almond Branch School and Vik Academy in Okotoks.
Parents and guardians, who say communication from the daycares has been spotty, worry the worst is yet to come. Symptoms can develop 10 days after contaminated food has been eaten and children are at greater risk of developing more severe complications, such as hemolytic uremic syndrome, which can lead to kidney failure.
What to know about E. coli infection symptoms and how to handle an outbreak
Katie McLean, whose almost two-year-old daughter goes to the McKnight location of Fueling Brains, said her child started developing symptoms last Thursday evening. It started as a fever but she began experiencing diarrhea overnight. The family went to the emergency department on Saturday after blood was seen in her stool.
It was in the waiting room with other parents that Ms. McLean learned about the E. coli outbreak. She said it wasn’t until Monday evening that a warning was sent from her daughter’s daycare. The slow communication was “really upsetting,” she said, especially because of the severity of the bacterial infection.
“The fee that I pay to the daycare is insurance that my child will be safe there. That’s the only reason I pay them what I pay them. And that trust has just been totally dissolved,” Ms. McLean said from the hospital on Tuesday.
Devin O’Neal, whose 18-month-old daughter goes to Fueling Brains in Bridgeland, said he also didn’t receive any information from the daycare until around 8 p.m. local time on Monday. He counts his daughter lucky as she has yet to develop any symptoms but he’s keeping a close eye.
What concerns him most is that leaving parents or guardians in the dark for days could mean that symptoms aren’t being taken as seriously, or addressed as quickly, as they should be.
His daughter was supposed to start daycare at another Fueling Brains location Tuesday, at Centennial, if it hadn’t been for the outbreak. But Mr. O’Neal and his wife are now considering searching for another provider.
“An outbreak can happen, and that’s understandable in a way, but the lack of communication that leaves kids extra vulnerable when they don’t need to be is something that does seriously concern me,” he said.
The Centennial location has been cited by Alberta Health Services for a number of public-health violations since at least July, 2021, through 10 inspections.
The latest inspection in April, according to the health authority’s publicly available reports, said sanitizer wiping cloths appeared “severely stained” and that the coating on a flat beater of a countertop stand mixer was “severely chipped and may physically contaminate food.” Both violations were corrected during the inspection.
In February, an inspection found the daycare’s food handling permit had expired. The report also noted that trays were stored in the handwashing sink where “food particles” were seen. Additionally, wet cleaning cloths were stored on countertops instead of in sanitizing solution.
Other inspections noted violations regarding staff aprons and hats making direct contact with food, dirty oven mitts being stored on top of clean food liners, poor cleaning of certain machinery, and clean utensils being stored in bins with “an accumulation of old food debris.”
Fueling Brains did not respond to a request for comment from The Globe and Mail. The company web page has a pop-up notice that said the daycares will reopen on Monday or “until further notice” while campuses undergo “the necessary measures to ensure the safety of our students, families and staff.”
Katie Hopkins, whose two daughters under the age of 5 attend the New Brighton location, said she’s angry at the situation but said she doesn’t blame the daycare. She said she was notified by the New Brighton team about a gastrointestinal outbreak on Wednesday and then again about E. coli specifically on Sunday and Monday.
Both of her children have lab-confirmed E. coli but, on Tuesday, were starting to feel better.
Alanna Smith