Lee Dobbinson’s eight-year-old daughter Alba fell ill after visiting a popular farm now at the heart of a parasite outbreak investigation
A father said his young daughter fell ill after visiting a popular Welsh farm now linked to a parasite outbreak. Lee Dobbinson, 42, took his eight-year-old daughter, Alba, to Cowbridge Farm Shop in the Vale of Glamorgan on April 17 and she became unwell just five days later. She has now been unwell for nine days.
The visit was part of the farm’s lamb and calf-feeding experience which has now been suspended amid a confirmed outbreak of cryptosporidium. Public Health Wales (PHW) has confirmed that at least 28 people have been infected after visiting the farm and is now investigating the outbreak alongside local health partners.
The parasite cryptosporidium lives in the faeces of infected animals and can cause stomach illness in humans with symptoms such as watery diarrhoea, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting and fever.
Despite following all hygiene protocols at the farm, including disinfecting, washing hands and wearing shoe covers, the family still ended up affected. Stay informed on the latest health news by signing up to our newsletter here.
“You go to see livestock with a common sense of risk but this time she was crouching over with stomach cramps and we knew something wasn’t right. Within an hour she had diarrhoea and was throwing up,” Mr Dobbinson said.
Alba has been unwell since April 22 and has missed the end of her Easter holidays and the first week back at school. Cowbridge Farm Shop were contacted for comment.
PHW said that symptoms typically begin between two and ten days after contact with the parasite and can last for up to two weeks.
“She’s still having random bouts of illness but is definitely not well enough to go back to school or anywhere because it is so contagious,” said Mr Dobbinson.
Children and people with weakened immune systems are particularly vulnerable to infection.
He said the family had planned to visit another farm the following weekend but had to cancel after Alba fell ill.
“She loves animals and we have been to farms many times before. If we had gone, we could have cross-contaminated to another farm,” he added.
“People have said ‘You should have washed your hands’ but this parasite isn’t just stopped by water. The farm had proper facilities and disinfectant everywhere – we did everything we were supposed to do.”
Mr Dobbinson said doctors have taken stool samples from Alba and confirmed the infection. Some people impacted by the suspected outbreak are understood to have been hospitalised.
Public Health Wales has advised anyone who has visited the petting sessions at the farm and who is now experiencing symptoms to contact their GP.
Get daily breaking news updates on your phone by joining our WhatsApp community here. We occasionally treat members to special offers, promotions and ads from us and our partners. See our Privacy Notice
