Calgary E. coli outbreak: Province announces $2K for affected families as infections rise

globalnews.ca:

Alberta’s chief medical officer of health said though the E. coli outbreak linked to several Calgary daycares remains serious, there is a decrease in patients requiring care in hospital.

The government also announced a one-time payment to affected families of $2,000 per child. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said information on how to apply for this funding will be available soon

“While Alberta’s government is providing this financial support, we expect that these child care facilities recognize the hardship that has been caused and reimburse families the fees for the days that children have spent out of care,” Smith said.

At a news conference Friday, chief medical officer of health Dr. Mark Joffe said there are now 337 confirmed cases of E. coli, with 12 patients receiving care in hospital, a decrease of eight in the last two days.

Ten patients have been diagnosed with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a kidney- and blood-related severe complication, and six are receiving dialysis at the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary, Joffe said.

There have been 26 cases of secondary transmission, all within households connected to the daycares.

Joffe said there has been one case of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) in a child in Calgary who did not attend one of the daycares linked to the shared kitchen identified as the likely source of the outbreak.

However, he explained that a small amount of children get infected with E. coli every week and this case could be unrelated, but it is still being investigated.

Alberta Health Services said it is in contact with that child’s family to determine if there’s a link to the outbreak.

The provincial health authority said Calgary JCC Child Care has been informed of the case of STEC in