The Cleveland County Fair in North Carolina won’t have a petting zoo this year. Organizers of the fair, which opens next week, decided against it after an E.coli outbreak linked to last year’s petting zoo sickened 106 people. Most of those who became ill were children, one of whom died. Heavy rains caused runoff that … Read more
The Cleveland County Fair Working Group held a press conference this week to give their recommendations on how to make the event safer. Last year’s outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 at the Fair sickened more than 100 people; seven people developed hemolytic uremic syndrome. A toddler died as a result of the infection. In early May, … Read more
Heavy rains during the Cleveland County Fair in North Carolina may have contributed to the spread of E. coli bacteria in the petting zoo which health officials now confirm is the source of an E.coli outbreak that sickened 106 people and killed a small child. Runoff was a likely factor in widespread contamination of the area surrounding … Read more