Urgent warning to parents taking children to farms this summer as 200 fall sick and 18 rushed to hospital

Scottish Sun

25-07-2025

There were 17 outbreaks of nasty parasitic bug linked to farms in England and Wales in 2024
BUG BEAR Urgent warning to parents taking children to farms this summer as 200 fall sick and 18 rushed to hospital
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PARENTS planning summer trips to farms have been warned to keep their children safe, after hundreds fell ill with a parasitic infection following visits to petting farms last year.
Over 200 people got sick and 18 were rushed to hospital in spring 2024 in a large outbreak of the bug cryptosporidium, linked to a farm in Wales.
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Health officials have issued a warning about summer trips to lamb petting farms
Credit: Getty
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It follows outbreaks of the bug cryptosporidium linked to petting farms
Credit: Getty
Those sickened - many of whom were children under the age of ten - visited the Welsh farm for lamb-feeding events, where visitors were encouraged to hold and cuddle the animals.
Cryptosporidium is a microscopic and highly infectious parasite that can cause an infection called cryptosporidiosis.
It spreads easily between animals and humans and strikes victims with vomiting and diarrhoea, sometimes for several weeks.
There were 17 outbreaks of cryptosporidiosis linked to farms in England and Wales in 2024.
And earlier this year, more than 80 people fell ill due to infections linked to a petting farm in Vale of Glamorgan.
Now, families visiting petting farms over the summer break have been urged not to hug lambs in order to avoid further outbreaks.
Public Health Wales (PHW) advised farmers in the country not to allow visitors close contact with lambs - this includes holding, cuddling or kissing the animals.
The advice came after PHW conducted a report on the 2024 outbreak that saw 200 sickened.
It found people who had closer levels of contact with lambs at petting events were much more likely to become ill with cryptosporidium than those who didn't touch the animals.
"Discussions with the farm owner revealed that lambs often urinated or defecated on visitors when they were held for prolonged periods, and those exposed to faeces on clothes or the skin were significantly more likely to develop illness, suggesting a need to limit lamb contact at these events," report authors added.
Farm Outbreak: Cryptosporidium Strikes
The health watchdog wrote: 'This report recommends that lamb or calf feeding is supervised and done with the animals separated from the visitors by their pens.
"This means that people can still bottle feed the animals but can have greater protection against illness."
The report also recommended that farmers provide better hand-washing facilities and visible signs to encourage visitors to use them.
Meanwhile, visitors were advised to wash their clothing as soon as possible after visiting petting farms.
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Dr Christopher Williams, consultant epidemiologist for Public Health Wales and one of the authors of the report, said bugs like cryptosporidium as this one "are spread very easily" in environments such as lamb feeding events.
He told farmers: 'Having adequate handwashing facilities on-site is absolutely essential – sinks need to have both hot and cold running water, along with a good supply of liquid soap and paper towels.
"Signage around the event should ensure that people are encouraged to wash their own and their children's hands properly on a regular basis throughout their visit.
'We would also like to see farmers make their visitors aware of the risks involved in having close contact with young animals, so that people are educated before they attend.
'I would encourage any farmers who are considering opening their farms for these events to consider all the risks, and plan ahead early to enable them to make all the necessary provisions possible in order to keep their visitors safe from infection.'
The report found that the spring 2024 cryptosporidium outbreak was making it one of the largest reported outbreaks of the bug in Wales, and "the largest to date associated with a farm setting in England and Wales".
Symptoms of cryptosporidiosis and how to avoid it
Symptoms of the bug include: Profuse watery diarrhoea
Stomach pains
Nausea
Vomiting
Low-grade fever
Loss of appetite
Dehydration
Weight loss
Symptoms usually last for about two weeks but can be longer, especially in people with weak immune systems.
During the illness, you might think that you are getting better and have shaken off the infection but then it returns a couple of days later before you fully recover.
Take the following steps to protect yourself from the illness.
Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water: Before preparing and eating food
After handling raw food
After going to the toilet or changing a baby's nappy
After working with, feeding, grooming or playing with pets and other animals
Help young children to wash their hands properly and always wash and/or peel fruits and vegetables before eating them.
Do not drink untreated water.
You should pay special attention to hygiene during farm visits, washing hands after any contact with animals, and eating only in designated areas.
How do I treat the illness?
There is no specific treatment for cryptosporidiosis.
Most people with a healthy immune system will recover within one month.
It's important to drink plenty of fluids as diarrhoea or vomiting can lead to dehydration and you can lose important sugars and minerals from your body.
Cryptosporidiosis is highly infectious, so you need to be very clean around your home for at least 48 hours after your symptoms stop, so don't return to work or school until that time has passed, don't share towels or bedding and don't prepare food for others.
You are infectious to other people while you are ill and have symptoms.
The report authors confirmed that the lambs used for petting events were the source of the outbreak and the odds of visitor becoming unwell increased with each successive week the event was open.
Children under the age of 10 were the most likely to become unwell.
"This may, in part, be explained by children often having poorer hand hygiene, being more likely to engage in behaviours that facilitate transmission - such as nail-biting or thumb-sucking - and being less likely to thoroughly wash their hands without appropriate supervision," the report authors said.
Cryptosporidium symptoms usually start two to 10 days after infection and can last for around two weeks once they appear.
Sometimes the illness may seem to improve as symptoms ease, but they can return before full recovery.
Very young children and people with weakened immune systems are more likely to get severely ill.
Eight-year-old Alba Dobbinson was one of the youngest to fall ill this spring in the cryptosporidium outbreak linked to Marlborough Grange Farm in the Vale of Glamorgan.
She was hit with nausea and diarrhoea after feeding lambs at the farm with her mum, Vici, on April 17.
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Alba Dobbinson was one of the youngest who tested positive for the diarrhoea bug this spring after visiting a petting farm
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Several were diagnosed with the bug after spending the day at Cowbridge Farm Shop at Marlborough Grange Farm in the Vale of Glamorgan
Photos show the little girl cuddling the animals and close contact with infected livestock is one of the main ways the bug spreads.
Vici said: 'We were stunned because we had only been around other families and couldn't pinpoint where Alba had caught it.
'It's not like a 48-hour bug, it can potentially go on for up to a month."
She added: "She can't even go to school, spend time with her friends or enjoy the weather.'
Meanwhile, Gareth Carpenter said he had never seen his son Michael so unwell after he was hospitalised, suspected of catching the parasite at the farm.
"He's had chicken pox, he's had flu, he has had viruses, he had many, many, many things as you can imagine as kids do when they mix in with other children, but I've never, ever seen him that ill before," he told WalesOnline.
"We had to put him back in nappies, just literally leaking. It was horrendous, stomach pains and cramps."