Health officials in Connecticut held a conference in Hartford this week on health risks associated with agritourism. The conference comes after 50 people were infected with E. coli following visits to a goat farm in Lebanon, Connecticut, in March.
State and federal officials, including representatives from the CDC and USDA, led discussions on a number of a topics related to animal-human disease transmission on farms, including what happened at the Oak Leaf Dairy in Lebanon and why.
State Epidemiologist Dr. Matthew Cartter spoke about the lack of precautions at that farm. “There’s no handwashing facilities available at the farm, no signage encouraging use of hand sanitizer, no educational materials to inform visitors about potential risks or disease. I talked to many parents who wanted to wash their hands and wanted to wash the hands of their kids, but they weren’t able to. I think it could have decreased transmission. How much, I don’t know.”
The Connecticut Farm Bureau helped coordinate the conference on farm safety. Their executive director, Henry Talmage, says that it’s great to educate the public about where their food comes from, but it comes with a responsibility to make farm visits safe. Talmage said the Bureau will reach out to farmers with information from the conference, but there will always be risks involved when you invite the public onto your farm.
To learn more about E. coli, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
This report contains information from CRN.