The Calgary daycare chain at the centre of last year’s massive E. coli outbreak has shuttered one of its locations due to a new case of the potentially fatal food-borne illness.
A notice posted on the door of Fueling Brains Academy’s West 85th Campus states a single infection was detected late Wednesday in a one-year-old child and that the location has been shut through Friday.
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It also said there’s no evidence the infection originated at the campus or that it has spread to others.
“We are closing the West 85th campus to allow for deep cleaning and to ensure the safety and well-being of our students and staff,” states the notice.
“We promptly reached out to Alberta Health Services and are awaiting further guidance.”
It’s also advising parents with children who attend the location not to take them to other daycares and to avoid Friday’s Calgary Stampede Parade.
There’s no word on the child’s condition.
In an email, AHS said it is aware of the infection.
“AHS has reached out to the operator of the daycare facility to gather information on this situation. Out of an abundance of caution, the operator has voluntarily closed the facility.”
There’s nothing to suggest there was on-site transmission, added AHS, which is not declaring the incident an outbreak.
AHS said parents noticing any symptoms such as bloody diarrhea in their children who attend the daycare should contact their family physician or call Health Link at 8-1-1, and if the condition is severe, to go to a hospital emergency department.
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Last September, the kitchen at the centre of a large scale E. coli outbreak that tore through Calgary daycare communities was charged under city bylaws for operating without a business licence.
The City of Calgary said it issued 12 charges against Fueling Minds — which health officials have noted as the likely source of the outbreak — and the kitchen operation’s two directors, Faisal Alimohd and Anil Karim, under the city’s Business Licensing Bylaw.
The kitchen is associated with Fueling Brains Academy, which had six of its locations and those of five other daycares closed last September amid the outbreak — one of the largest in Canadian history — which saw more than 350 people, mostly children, falling ill, some of them requiring hospitalization.
Following an investigation, ASH officials have said they believe the outbreak stemmed from meat loaf served on Aug. 29, 2023.
Health inspections of Fueling Minds dating back to 2021 have noted multiple violations. An inspection Sept. 5 — the day after health officials ordered the kitchen closed — found cockroaches, improperly mixed sanitizing solutions, a “sewer gas smell” and issues with food handling and transportation.
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Fueling Brains Academy said Thursday morning they would not be granting interviews.
Following that outbreak, the UCP government said it was creating a third-party panel, led by former Calgary police chief Rick Hanson, to take a “broader look at the legislation and regulations that govern food safety in our province.”
The panel was also to feature parents, child care and food service operators, and food safety and public health experts.
It was originally expected to deliver an interim report on its findings at the end of 2023.
— With files from Michael Rodriguez
X: @BillKaufmannjrn
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