The number of kids sickened by an E. Coli outbreak in a dozen Calgary daycares continues to climb, even as public health officials scramble to contain the outbreak..As of last count on Wednesday, there have been a total of 96 confirmed lab cases while 22 of those were serious enough to warrant hospitalization.."We have dedicated teams of specialists focused on diagnosing and supporting any children who present to the emergency room or may need to be admitted," Dr. Francesco Rizzuti, an AHS medical officer, told a news conference..In response, AHS said it has provided more than 2,000 stool sample testing kits to all of the affected daycares for staff and parents..On Sunday, AHS issued a health protection order and immediately shut down 11 city daycares that shared a common kitchen facility. Although the cause of the outbreak hasn’t been determined efforts are focussing on that particular location..Despite reports the kitchen had incurred minor infractions from previous AHS inspections dating back to 2021, Rizzuti said there was no indication the kitchen was in violation of any previous orders..Past deficiencies included lack of hand sanitizer in the cooking area, unclean surfaces and improper food storage and handling. Remedial action had been requested as recently as April of this year.."Before this outbreak, this kitchen was in compliance with health regulations," Rizzuti said..Six ‘Fueling Brains Academy’ locations in Calgary and five other sites, including one in Okotoks, will remain closed until the investigation is concluded.
