Two nurseries at the centre of an E-coli outbreak in East Lothian have re-opened their doors to staff and pupils in full agreement with investigation teams.
Church Street Pear Tree Nursery in Haddington became the first to re-open on Monday and was followed by its sister company Meadowpark Pear Tree Nursery today (wed).
Plans to re-open the remaining three nurseries – West Road Pear Street Nursery, Musselburgh Private Nursery, Bridge Street and Musselburgh Private Nursery, Stoneybank – are in place and will be actioned as soon as it is safe to do so.
Dr Graham Mackenzie, Consultant in Public Health Medicine and Chair of the Incident Management Team (IMT), leading the investigations, urged parents to stay on track and said the reopening of the nurseries proved that robust control measures are successful.
He said: “It is really encouraging to see these nurseries opening back up and children being able to return to school and nursery and we would like to thank the families who have worked with us.
“Over the last few weeks, hundreds of exclusion orders have been put in place to safeguard public health and safeguard communities.
“This has been challenging for everyone involved. We all know how difficult the lockdown and the pandemic has been on family life and that these exclusions were difficult for families to accept.
“However the Health Protection Team has worked tirelessly to contain the outbreak and prevent wider spread and the IMT would like to thank them for all of their hard work and professionalism.
“Scores of exclusion orders have been lifted over recent days which means that some families can get back to normal. There are also enough staff and pupils who have been through the clearance process and provided two negative stool samples 24 hour apart, to make it feasible for Church Street and Meadowpark nurseries to re-open.
“I would remind families that they must wait for the Health Protection Team to give them clearance for their child to attend nursery to ensure there is no possibility of continuing transmission.
“The Health Protection Team will call you as soon as the results are through, so please remember there is no need to call through to check if they have been received.
“These lists are being regularly updated with nurseries to ensure they also know who to expect and when.”
Church Street Pear Tree Nursery was originally closed on August 2 after a number of children fell ill and went on to test positive for E-coli.
NHS Lothian joined forces with local and national partner agencies to form a multi-agency Incident Management Team (IMT) to investigate the cluster of cases.
The sister nursery Meadowpark Pear Tree Nursery was then closed on August 12, as a precaution when sickness symptoms were reported before E-coli went on to be confirmed on August 19. It was then followed by Musselburgh Private Nursery, Bridge Street on the same day.
Musselburgh Private Nursery, Bridge Street will remain closed until the clearance process has been completed.
In total, there have been 50 confirmed cases of E-coli.
West Road Pear Street Nursery, and Musselburgh Private Nursery, Stoneybank were both closed as a precaution following sickness symptoms.
Musselburgh Private Nursery, Stoneybank, closed its door after reports of sickness symptoms and a connection with its sister nursery in Bridge Street were identified. All staff and pupils were formally excluded under the Public Health Act and informed of the actions to take.
E-coli has never been confirmed in West Road and the nursery is awaiting further advice from the IMT to determine a date for re-opening.
The complex outbreak has evolved rapidly and a set of FAQs have been developed to help answer questions from concerned families and carers. They are available on NHS Lothian’s website https://news.nhslothian.scot/2022/08/26/faqs-further-update-on-ecoli/
A general information line on 0800 22 44 88 has been created through NHS24 to help families answer many of the questions they may be facing.
It was contained in the exclusion letter, but families are also being reminded that they may be eligible for compensation for loss of earnings resulting from an exclusion.
An adult who has been excluded under the Public Health Act may be eligible as well as parents and carers who need to care for someone who has been excluded.
E. coli is a bacterial infection that causes illness in people. The symptoms range from mild loose stools to severe bloody diarrhoea. The most serious complications can lead to blood poisoning and kidney failure.
There is no specific treatment for the infection and most people who are infected will get better without medical treatment. However, those who have symptoms, or are concerned, are advised to contact their GP or NHS 24 on telephone number 111.
