Vancouver Daycare Closes After Child’s E. coli Death
After a 4-year-old Vancouver boy died of E. coli poisoning, the home daycare center he attended has had its license permanently revoked by Washington state health officials, according to the Columbian.
The boy became sick with the life-threatening E. coli O157:H7 pathogen in April. After being rushed to the hospital with bloody diarrhea–a strong sign of an Ecoli infection–the deadly bacteria attacked his kidneys and colon. He was put on dialysis and died after spending a week in a Portland hospital.
In addition to the one E coli death there were 13 cases of E. coli poisoning related to this outbreak, according to county health officials. Three others were hospitalized but recovered and 10 more people tested positive for the pathogen but had only mild E. coli symptoms. The owners of the day care, who have operated it for about 20 years, say they plan to appeal the state’s revocation of the license. Health officials told local news sources that the license was being revoked for several reasons:
- The daycare owners waited too long before reporting child illnesses to the county health department
- The daycare did not follow state-regulated diapering procedures
- The daycare lacked sufficient records for one of the children who attended
- A previous citation was on record for operating over the capacity for which they were licensed, which was only 12 children
Health officials have said the infection was most likely spread by person-to-person contact and that it was not a case of foodborne illness.
