Petting zoo results in death of toddler

“I am relieved to know that he is in a better place free from any further pain or suffering,” he added. “Life is precious and can be taken from you without warning. It is truly important to let those closest to you know how much you care about them.”

County fairs often feature petting zoos, which are popular with children and can serve as a positive learning experience about animals — however, they can also be filled with germs and disease, which is why the Centers for Disease Control has even posted guidelines on how to stay safe at petting zoos. The CDC notes that many people get sick every year at petting zoos because of germs that animals carry that can be very harmful to a human. As a result, people should be taking a number of precautions.

Hand washing is the most important one. When a person visits a petting zoo, they should be aware of where washing stations are, and a person should wash immediately after petting animals or touching the enclosure. Even those who don’t touch the animals should wash their hands once leaving the area.

As for what to use, it should be adequate to just use soap and water. If no hand washing stations are immediately available, you can use hand sanitizer, but try to wash your hands as soon as possible.

Eating and drinking should be completely avoided in areas where there are animals, with the exception of service animals. And it is certainly not advised to share food with animals.

For children who are under 5 years of age, supervision is necessary at all times. Children may put their fingers or objects like a pacifier in their mouth while interacting with animals, and this should be prevented due to the tremendous risk of spreading disease. Adults should also make sure to supervise their hand washing, and make sure that they do it properly.

The culprit in this case, E. coli — short for Escherichia coli — is a rod-shaped bacterium that lives in the lower intestine of warm-blooded animals. While many strains are harmless, severe strains can result in food poisoning, and it is in fact one of the most common caused of food poisoning and a very common cause of food recalls ranging from meats to vegetables. There are often reports of food recalls involving foods like raw meats or cucumbers or just about anything that can result in the spread of the E. coli bacteria.