Health officials have warned that the toll of a recent outbreak of the gruesome ‘crypto’ parasite at a petting farm in Wales is far greater than previously thought.
The number of people thought to have been infected with deadly cryptosporidium after attending calf and lamb feeding session at a farm in the Vale of Glamorgan has risen to 74.
When the outbreak was first identified in late April, health chiefs identified just 47 cases of the parasite that can cause gastrointestinal illness—including stomach cramps, vomiting and in rarer cases blood in stools.
Public Health Wales (PHW) reported that 16 people have been hospitalised so far, with the number expected to rise over the coming week.
Public health officials are now examining cases of the parasite linked to visits to Cowbridge Farm Shop at Marlborough Grange Farm in Cowbridge.
PHW said the shop had stopped the feeding and petting sessions and continues to cooperate with the ongoing investigation.
The body added that anyone who has visited the farm recently, particularly those who attended feeding or petting sessions, and who is now experiencing symptoms, should contact their GP.
People become infected with cryptosporidium via contact with infected faeces, either directly from an infected animal or person, or from contaminated surfaces like farm gates or the bottom of shoes.
There are now 74 cases linked to lamb and calf petting sessions at Cowbridge Farm Shop
Last year UKHSA issued a warning about the risk of cryptosporidium infection from farm visits
The infection, which can be deadly in the vulnerable, then spreads through people not washing their hands thoroughly.
Infected people can shed up to 100million cryptosporidium germs in a single bowel movement, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Swallowing just ten of these germs is enough to get ill.
Su Mably, a consultant in health protection at PHW, said they are continuing to work with the Cardiff and Vale health board and Vale of Glamorgan council to fully understand the wider risk to the public.
She said: ‘While the infection is usually mild and self-limiting, it can be more serious illness in young children or people with weakened immune systems.
‘We urge anyone who visited the farm and is feeling unwell to contact their GP or NHS 111. Practicing good hygiene is the best way to protect yourself and others’, the consultant added.
Cryptosporidium parasites are protected by a thick shell that allows them to even survive in chlorinated swimming pool water
For most people, cryptosporidiosis — the technical name for the infection — is mild.
However, those with vulnerable immune systems, such as the elderly, pregnant women, or patients undergoing cancer treatment, are at high risk of the parasite becoming life-threatening.
However, symptoms can often be hard to spot—due to the parasite’s incubation period— as they’re easily mistaken for more common digestive conditions like irritable bowel syndrome and food poisoning.
Some of the symptoms, such as abdominal pain and blood in the stools, may be particularly anxiety-provoking as they mimic the signs of bowel cancer, which is known to be on the rise.
Due to the bug’s highly infectious nature people with symptoms such as diarrhoea and vomiting are told to stay off work or school until they have been free from these symptoms for at least 48 hours.
They are also encouraged to take steps to minimise the risk of passing the parasite on to other people in their household, including washing dirty clothes, bedding and towels on the hottest setting, and not preparing food others.
Last May, more than 100 people were also infected by cryptosporidium in Brixham, Devon. The outbreak was believed to be linked to water contaminated with infected faeces making its way into the drinking supply
Victims can also experience periods of false hope where their symptoms clear for a few days, making them believe they are finally over the infection, only for it to return.
Sufferers often have to endure these symptoms for two weeks before it is finally clear from their systems, but bouts of illness can last even longer, particularly in people with weakened immune systems and the elderly.
Most people with cryptosporidiosis aren’t offered treatment and are instead told to drink plenty of fluids and minimise contact with other people while waiting until symptoms pass.
People are typically infected with crypto via contact with faeces containing the parasite, either from humans or animals that then enters their mouth.
People can also get it by caring for people infected with crypto, particularly young children.
This can occur when people change a nappy and then put their hands near or in their mouth without washing them thoroughly, for example.
Other possible sources of infection are contact with infected milk, or from vegetables that have been fertilised with infected animal manure and not washed thoroughly.
As crypto can survive in faecal matter for long periods of time sufferers are asked not to go swimming until two weeks after their diarrhoea has stopped.
This includes both natural bodies of water as well as swimming pools as traces of infected dried poo can wash off an infected swimmer’s anus.
Last year the UKHSA issued a warning about the risk of cryptosporidium infection from farm visits.
In a twist on the classic children’s rhyme the agency wrote on social media: ‘Mary had a little lamb, its fleece was white as snow.
‘But wash your hands and dry them too in case it has crypto.’
Last May, more than 100 people were also infected by cryptosporidium in Brixham, Devon.
The outbreak was believed to be linked to water contaminated with infected faeces making its way into the drinking supply.
Whole streets in the town were infected, with victims forced to endure days of diarrhoea and agonising stomach cramps, with one sufferer even comparing them to ‘childbirth’.
