A second Shropshire boy has been struck down with the E.coli bug, and is seriously ill in a specialist children’s hospital.
The Ellesmere youngster was taken into hospital last week with suspected appendicitis. But it has been confirmed he is suffering with the dangerous 0157 strain of the E.coli bacteria.
Today his worried parents warned people to take precautions to prevent their children getting the bug and to seek medical advice if their children suffered a stomach bug.
Their son is currently on dialysis at the Birmingham Children’s Hospital after the bug affected his kidneys.
The parents of the Ellesmere boy, who say they do not want their son identified, have been taking it in turns to stay with him in hospital since he was admitted on April 4.
“He had been complaining of a stomach ache for a few days but his condition suddenly deteriorated,” his father said.
“We want to warn parents that this is a dangerous bacteria that can make people very ill. If children do have nasty stomach bugs then you should seek medical advice.”
He also urged people to take precautions including washing hands after coming into contact with farm animals.
The news of the youngster’s illness came just days after news of another boy suffering from the same strain of E.coli.
Parents and carers of children at the Peter Pan Nursery at Gobowen near Oswestry were given letters saying the boy, had attended the nursery a week before falling ill.
They were told by Shropshire’s health protection nurse that the infection was unlikely to have come from the nursery as another possible source had been identified.
It is unknown whether the Ellesmere case is connected. The Ellesmere boy does not have links with the nursery.
Julie Thornby, director of corporate affairs at Shropshire County PCT said: “We can confirm there is a child from Ellesmere who currently has E.coli 0157.
“This is an isolated case and, working with the Health Protection Agency, we do see occasional cases of E.coli like this. There is no evidence of any connection between this case and the child with E.coli in Oswestry.”
She had said that symptoms such as diarrhoea, tummy pains and fever were very common in children.
By Sue Austin
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