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Park cafe closes after E.coli outbreak
A PARK cafe has been closed while health officials investigate an outbreak of the potentially deadly E.coli food poisoning which has left six people needing hospital treatment.
All of those who have become ill had eaten at Millhouses Park Cafe in Sheffield and the premises have been closed voluntarily to allow an investigation by South Yorkshire Health Protection Unit to go ahead.
Four of the patients are under school age. Two of those with symptoms were admitted to hospital and one, an elderly patient, remains there.
Results of some tests, on food and the environment, at the cafe have come back with negative results but health officials are now awaiting the results on other tests of staff.
All six patients visited the cafe to eat independently on the same weekend during visits to the park and the cafe's owners agreed to stop trading to allow the investigation to proceed.
Dr Rosy McNaught, consultant in communicable disease control at the unit said: "We have to keep an open mind and think laterally about how people might have been exposed. We have to look very carefully."
That will involve re-interviewing all those involved to establish exactly what their movements were on the day they visited the park.
Other tests will check whether the E.coli was picked up from another source, such as public toilets or the boating lake.
E.coli is a very serious illness and can be fatal. During one outbreak in Scotland 20 pensioners died and of 150 victims of the same outbreak in Wales, there was one fatality.
The illness can also cause kidney failure and all the Sheffield victims will be closely monitored for possible symptoms.
No response was available from the cafe today, though a sign outside stated it will remain closed until September 29 to allow a refurbishment programme originally planned for January next year to take place.
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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