Nursery shut in E.coli outbreak

Seven children and one member of staff at Ambrose Nook nursery in Oldham, Greater Manchester, contracted the infection.

One child is in a "serious but stable" condition at the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital in Pendlebury.

The other children and adult affected are either symptom-free or are recovering at home. The source of the E.coli O157 infection is not yet known.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) ordered the closure of the school after six initial cases were uncovered to prevent further possibility of infection passing from child to child.

Another child and an adult tested positive after all 90 staff and children at the nursery underwent routine checks.

An incident team comprising the HPA, Oldham Council's Environmental Health Department, Oldham Primary Care Trust and microbiologists is investigating the outbreak.

Dr Marko Petrovic, consultant in Health Protection, said: "We haven't identified a source of infection at this stage.

Our priority is to do all we can to prevent further cases occurring and to bring the outbreak to an end.

"We're grateful for the support we are receiving from staff and management at the nursery. They are giving us full co-operation and readily agreed to our request that the nursery should close until we are satisfied that the outbreak is safely over.

"This is a standard infection-control procedure."

Parents were told about the situation when they collected their children from the nursery on Friday May 11.

They were given a leaflet on E.coli O157 and its symptoms and advice on infection control measures.