Dozens infected with parasite after going to petting zoo
Dozens of people have contracted a parasitic infection called cryptosporidium from a petting zoo in south Wales.
There have been 28 confirmed cases of the infection in people who visited the Cowbridge Farm Shop at Marlborough Grange Farm in the Vale of Glamorgan.
Public Health Wales said the farm shop had ended calf and lamb feeding and petting sessions and were ‘cooperating with our investigations’.
Cryptosporidium is a parasite that can cause gastrointestinal illness.
The main symptoms include watery diarrhoea, stomach pains, nausea, mild fever, and loss of appetite and weight loss.
What is cryptosporidiosis?
Cryptosporidium is a parasite that can cause gastrointestinal illness.
It is often linked to contact with animals, particularly young farm animals such as calves and lambs.
It is also found in lakes, streams and rivers – and sometimes in swimming pools.
You can catch it directly by touching faeces and not washing your hands.
Occasionally you can be infected by eating and drinking contaminated food, particularly unpasteurised milk, under cook meat and offal.
The most common symptoms are watery diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach pains, and fever which may only last a couple of days, but which can continue for up to three or four weeks.
Who is most at risk of cryptosporidiosis?
Symptoms typically begin between two and 10 days after contact with the parasite and can last for up to two weeks.
Young children and people with weakened immune systems can be particularly vulnerable to the effects of the infection.
It can become very serious if anyone with a weakened immune system becomes infected.
How do you treat cryptosporidiosis?
There is no specific treatment, and those with a healthy immune system will recover within one month.
But drinking plenty of water and using painkillers can help ease symptoms and speed up recovery.
Doctors may even recommend re-hydration solutions.
Su Mably, consultant in health protection at Public Health Wales, said: ‘We are working closely with partners to investigate these cases and to understand if there is a wider risk to the public.
‘We would advise anyone who has visited the farm, particularly those who attended feeding or petting sessions, and who is now experiencing symptoms to contact their GP.’
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