Six confirmed cases of a serious E. coli infection and four additional "suspected" cases are being looked into by the state Department of Health, according to the Macon County Times. All of the infected children, ages 5 and under, attended the same Key Road day care facility operated by Paulette Colter, west of Lafayette.

"Most of the six children with confirmed cases have been released from Sumner Regional Medical Center or treated by their family doctor and sent home with their parents," said Debbie Hoy of the state Department of Health. Two children, a girl age three-years and a sixteen month old boy, remain in Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital where they are receiving treatment.

An additional four young children have shown symptoms but have not become dangerously ill from the E. coli strain of infection, which can lead to serious complications such as hemolytic uremic syndrome, which causes damage to the kidneys.