Twin two-year-old boys victims of E.coli fight for life

Twin two-year-old boys with suspected kidney failure are among dozens of victims of a growing E.coli outbreak which started at a petting farm.

Both the children are on dialysis and one has undergone a blood transfusion as concern mounts over the scale of the infection.

There are now fears as many as 50,000 children could have been exposed to infection since it first surfaced in August and that they could pass it on to other children. Every parent who took children to the farm has been urged to seek medical advice.

Because of the long incubation period for the bacteria it could be weeks before its full impact is known.

Parents today demanded to know why the Government's watchdog the Health Protection Agency had taken almost two weeks between the first case being diagnosed and shutting the farm.

A total of 12 children under 10 are now being treated in hospital and health officials have identified 36 cases in total of E.coli O157 picked up at a farm in Surrey.

All fell ill after visiting Godstone Farm in Surrey and the most seriously affected are being treated in hospitals in and around London.

At least four are on dialysis at St Thomas's and described as seriously ill by doctors.

Tracy Mock, the mother of the sick twins, demanded to know why Godstone Farm was allowed to remain open for two more weeks after the first reports of children being infected in early August.

Miss Mock, from Tonbridge, said her five-year-old daughter was also infected after the family visited the Surrey farm on 31 August.

"If they had just shut the place down, my sons would not be in hospital on kidney dialysis machines," she said.

"My partner and I are taking turns to be there with them. One has had a blood transfusion. The doctors say it could be weeks until they are fit to come home."

Another victim is three-year-old Christy Gildea, who has to go to hospital next week for a blood transfusion.

Her father Philip said he was also furious that the farm was not told to close earlier.

Neil Wilson, whose nephew contracted the bug after visiting the farm on August 27, said: It's been a living hell, it seems quite surreal going in and seeing him and each day seeing him getting worse and worse, feeding tubes and blood going in. It's just awful, it's been an absolute nightmare.'

Mr Wilson demanded to know why the farm was not closed immediately. He said: I can't believe they said they have done everything possible.'

The outbreak is believed to have started on 8 August but it is thought that E.coli's long incubation period meant the HPA did not learn about the first possible case connected to the farm until 27 August.

The farm was immediately informed and put up extra signs warning visitors about the risk and urging them to wash their hands after touching the animals and to make sure they were "squeaky clean" before eating.

Following more cases, on 3 September the farm stopped allowing visitors to pet animals and closed its sandpit.

The farm was closed completely on Saturday, on the advice of the HPA, and environmental health officers have now launched a full investigation,

Farm manager Richard Maule-Oatway said he had co-operated fully with the inquiry and followed all safety procedures.

He said: "All the staff at the farm are very upset about the E.coli outbreak and we hope that all the children make a full and speedy recovery. We will not reopen until we are satisfied that we have got to the root of the problem."

Experts fear the deadly O157 strain of the bacterium which can affect the brain and heart, and lead to long-term kidney failure, could now be passed through child-to-child contact in playgrounds and within families, massively increasing the number of infections.

The HPA confirmed the outbreak was possibly the largest in the UK linked to animals and said their response was proportionate and effective for the scale of the incident.

Spokesman Dr Graham Bickler said: "It's very likely the source was animals at the farm. We know this organism is in their faeces but we need to find out how it got into the kids. As a farm-associated outbreak this is possibly the largest in the UK. It's very large and unusual."

Professor Hugh Pennington, the leading microbiologist, said the strain of the bug could have serious consequences.

He said: "It can be quite dangerous for young children and around 15 per cent go on to get complications which can affect the brain and heart as well as the kidneys.

"There is always the possibility of person to person spread. About 10 per cent of cases in outbreaks come from kids infecting their brothers and sisters. These cases are a good bit delayed."

Godstone Farm's sister company, Horton Park Children's Farm in Epsom, remains open. A spokesman said the only link between the two was commercial and that there was no contact between the animals.