South Carolina Requests Federal Evaluation on Day Care E.Coli Outbreak Response

South Carolina’s public health department has asked federal officials to evaluate both the agency’s response to an E. coli outbreak that killed one child at a Greenwood day care facility and its infectious disease programs overall.

Department of Health and Environmental Control director Catherine Heigel said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has agreed to review how it handled the outbreak at The Learning Vine earlier this year.

Fourteen E. coli cases were identified, and a 2-year-old boy died in May from the bacterial illness, which causes vomiting and diarrhea.

The center has reopened following cleaning and decontamination.

Heigel says she also wants the CDC to evaluate DHEC’s infectious disease programs to evaluate whether improvements are recommended.

Related:

• Officials: South Carolina Day Care Linked to 8 E. Coli Cases, One Child Death
• 3 More Test Positive for E. Coli from South Carolina Daycare Outbreak
• Alabama Officials: Food Poisoning at Day Care Likely Cause of 86 Sick Kids