Local health officials are warning people who visited the petting zoo at the North Carolina State Fair to be on the lookout for possible symptoms of an E. Coli outbreak. Three Wake County children fell ill with the bacteria this week.
The children had been to the petting zoo at the state fairgrounds in Raleigh, where they apparently came in contact with the bacteria and contracted hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS. It’s a disease that can affect young children, attacking red blood cells, and in rare cases, leading to kidney failure.
Common symptoms include bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps and usually develop within two to eight days of exposure. The illness typically is spread through particles of fecal matter on the hands and later ingested when the child eats without washing his hands.
“We want to make sure that any child who attended the petting zoo and their parents are on the lookout for these symptoms,” Joey Huff, Lenoir County health director, said. “If these symptoms appear we urge them to seek immediate medical attention.”