Nursery pupils hit by E coli outbreak

Four children were in hospital last night after two separate E coli outbreaks in Suffolk that affected 14 people.

Seven children and an adult from a nursery at West Suffolk College in Bury St Edmunds were taken to hospital earlier this week with E coli 0157. One has been transferred to a London hospital and two are in a local hospital.

In a separate incident, two children are believed to have been infected with the bug on a holiday in Tunisia. One is still in hospital in London.

The source of the infection at the nursery has not been located, but health officials yesterday said the first case was on 5 June. The nursery has been closed and disinfected.

Earlier this week, 15 girl guides on a camping trip in Scotland were infected with the bug. The girls, aged from nine to 13, and two adult leaders were infected at Bettyburn campsite, Inverkip. Infected tap water was located as the source.

An ex-nurse, Aileen Bruce, 57, from Perthshire, died on Tuesday after eating an E coli-infected sandwich. She died of kidney failure in hospital in Dundee.

In West Belfast, a nursery is to close for the summer after an outbreak of E coli 0157 which affected two teachers and a pupil at a nearby primary school.