Cases of E.coli have been linked to a nursery in South Lanarkshire.
Health officials are investigating the five cases of E.coli O157 which have emerged in Biggar.
It comes after five nurseries in East Lothian were forced to close amid an outbreak of the bacterial infection last month, that saw many effectively self-isolating under formal exclusion orders to prevent the further spread.
NHS Lanarkshire’s public health team is working closely with South Lanarkshire Council and Public Health Scotland and anyone with symptoms is being urged to contact their GP.
Four of the confirmed cases attend a local nursery where all staff and children have now been tested for the infection.
The fifth individual is closely linked to one of the other cases.
Dr Alison Smith-Palmer, NHS Lanarkshire consultant in public health, said: “To respect and maintain confidentiality, further information about the cases is not being released.”
The symptoms of E.coli O157 can include nausea, vomiting, stomach pains, diarrhoea, bloody diarrhoea or fever. In a small proportion of cases it can cause serious complications.
Dr Smith-Palmer, added: “We are asking people in the local area to be alert for any symptoms they, or a child they look after, may have. Anyone who has developed symptoms of E.coli infection should seek medical attention as specific tests are required to diagnose the infection which can mimic other illnesses.
“Anyone who develops symptoms should contact their GP practice or NHS24 on 111 when the GP practice is closed. This is crucial to help contain the infection and stop its spread within the community. Also, washing hands with soap and water is the best way to stop this bug from spreading.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here