Proposal to ban children under 5 from visiting farms
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Prof. Hugh Pennington of Aberdeen University evoked a storm of controversy
last week by recommending that children under five should be banned from
visiting U.K. livestock farms because of a serious risk of acquiring E. coli
0157 infection from farm animals.

There is already a ban in Sweden and some statistics which claim to support
the value of such a ban.  E. coli infections kill 1,000 people per year and
in 1999 24 deaths were attributed to infection acquired on farms in the U.K.

It was Prof. Pennington (bacteriologist at Aberdeen University) who
investigated the notorious E. coli 0157 outbreak in Scotland in 1996, which
led to the deaths of 21 people.  Prof. Pennington is most concerned about
the heightened risk of brain and kidney damage to children in the under-five
age group and has recommended that they are not taken on farm visits.
Speaking on BBC television last week, he said that children of this age are
more difficult to manage during visits, do not understand hygiene, suck
their fingers and are also more likely to get complicated infections.

In defence of open farms it must be pointed out that nothing in this life is
completely safe - cars and other children are far more lethal to children
than farm animals. It is all a matter of carefully supervising children
during their contact with animals. It would be a great shame to deprive
millions of kids of the enormous interest, fun and education that they
derive from visiting farms.  More information about E.coli 0157 infections
on farms at:   http://www.***.com/

Mike Meredith