It is time for mandated safety standards for fairgrounds, petting zoos and other farm animal businesses

— OPINION —

There is something special about watching children interact with animals at a petting zoo that touches the heart. I have very fond memories of taking my son Chris to petting zoos when he was young.  He loved touching the animals and feeding them. However, when I look at the pictures we took, it now triggers anxiety.  Little did I know my son could have become severely ill and possibly die from this seemingly innocent activity.

Deidre and Michael Hefflin have learned this lesson the hard way.  The Hefflin’s kindergartener went on a school field trip to the Appalachian Fairgrounds in Tennessee. His class visited the petting zoo.  He developed an E.coli 0157:H7 infection and then spread it to his mom and younger brothers, referred to as a secondary infection.  

The Hefflin’s 15 month old son River was in critical condition for over a month.  Five to ten percent of children who have a STEC (Shiga Toxin E.coli) infection can go on to develop a rare disease called Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS). When the E.coli 0157:H7 bacteria die off, they release a toxin called the Shiga toxin.  This toxin then attacks the Gb3 cells in the kidneys, pancreas and the brain.  The damage done by this pathogen is incomprehensible! 

How many parents and grandparents know that taking your child or grandchild to a county fair or petting zoo is a high-risk activity? My guess is most do not.  Three school districts in Tennessee did not know. 

For close to a quarter of a century, public health has known farm animals are a HUGE STEC (Shiga toxin E.coli) risk factor for young children.  Yet despite all the safety recommendations, outbreaks continue to occur.  They continue to occur because these are NOT safety mandates, only recommendations.  

In 2000, the CDC established recommendations for enteric disease prevention associated with farm animal contact. The Compendium of Measures to Prevent Disease Associated with Animal in Public Settings has been published by the National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians (NASPHV) and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) since 2005. 

In 2017, this research article was published, Farm Fairs and Petting Zoos: A review of Animal Contact as a Source of Zoonotic Enteric Disease. 

It states, “Although the transmission of STEC infections is low compared to other zoonotic pathogens, it is a significant issue because of its very small infective dose (as few as 10 cells), and the severity of illness that can develop, particularly in young children. Hale et al. (2012) estimated that each year 230 hospitalizations and 2 deaths could be attributed to STEC infections arising from direct animal contact.”

The agricultural lobbyists have known the danger of STEC and the vulnerability to young children.  This is why 31 states have agritourism immunity laws  that can shield an agritourism business from liability if someone is harmed.  This means the parents of children who have become severely ill or died after attending a petting zoo have no legal recourse. Many children are left with some level of disability and for severe cases, hospital bills that can add up to millions of dollars. The state fair or petting zoo cannot be sued because they have a liability law to protect them. 

My question is, “Who is lobbying for the children?”  Tragically, it appears no one!  

A small group of concerned moms are going to attempt to make policy changes in Tennessee.  A non-profit organization called Parker’s Promise  has been established to educate people about environmental pathogens and the dangers of animal contact for children. They also send care packages to children

while hospitalized.  

The solution to this legal quagmire is very simple. Convert some of the safety recommendations  into safety mandates.  Here are a few examples:

1. Educating visitors to public animal contact venues about the risk for transmission of diseases from animals to humans.  This is done prior to contact with animals. It can be as simple as a video.
2. Handwashing stations, hot water and soap, at the exit of the exhibit after contact with animals.
3. Handwashing stations to accommodate children and the handicapped.
4. For extra protection, hand sanitizer is used after hands are washed with soap and water.
5. No child or adult is allowed to leave before washing hands (a person is hired to supervise this activity).
6. No strollers, food, drinks, baby bottles, sippy cups, pacifiers can be brought in to where the animals are located.
7. Throw away paper booties to cover shoes and paper gowns to cover clothes should be provided (I added this).
8. No sitting on the ground where the animals are located.
9. Facility designs that allow for safe traffic patterns so pathogens are not spread to other areas.

In 2009, the state of Tennessee passed an agritourism liability law  to protect farms and businesses. They could have included safety mandates for state fairs, petting zoos or other types of farm animal contact businesses, but they did not. Below you will see the language printed on a sign at the front entrance and the entrance of the petting zoo. 

Under Tennessee law, there is no liability for an injury to or death of a participant, or damage to the property of a participant, in an agritourism activity conducted at this agritourism location or by this agritourism professional if such injury, death, or property damage results from the inherent risks of agritourism activity.

Inherent risks of agritourism activities include, among others, risks of injury and damage inherent to land, equipment, and animals, as well as the potential for you to act in a negligent manner that may contribute to your injury or death or to the damaging of your property.  You are assuming the risk of participating in the agritourism activity. 

Does this language inform a parent of the specific dangers their children might experience interacting with the animals at a petting zoo? Does it emphasize or suggest any safety measures a parent should undertake to reduce the dangers?  Nothing is mentioned about pathogen exposure.  It appears the sentence “risks of injury and damage inherent to land, equipment, and animals” legally covers it.  

I am not new to the pathogen E.coli 0157:H7. Eighteen years ago, my son Chris almost died from contaminated raw milk.   When I made the decision to buy raw milk, I had no idea E.coli 0157:H7 had been lurking in the intestines of cows since the 1980’s.  The first documentation of this pathogen began in Canada and was referred to as the “hamburger disease”.  The wakeup call for America was the 1993 Jack in the Box outbreak. 

In September of 2006, when Chris became ill, I was completely naïve about E.coli 0157:H7. I did not know it could contaminate raw milk and I did not know a child could die from this pathogen.  Once Chris was hospitalized, I quickly learned why you should NEVER give a child raw milk. 

Chris was hospitalized for 56 days in 4 different hospitals.  He spent 21 days in the pediatric intensive care unit.  Almost every doctor we came in contact with told us, “You should never give your child raw milk!” At the time, these words felt abusive. I was in such a fragile emotional state; I felt like screaming, “I think I know that now!” Looking back, no one meant harm.  It was their way of educating me.  I got the message loud and clear when Chris was put on a ventilator in a medically induced coma, chest tubes in his side, and receiving dialysis. 

Doctors and nurses don’t have this same view of petting zoos.  I doubt when the Hefflin’s were in the hospital with River, anyone admonished, “You should never take children to a petting zoo?”  Even though petting zoos are as dangerous as raw milk, this message is not being voiced.  Animals have always been a part of the American culture and petting zoos are as American as apple pie. 

We need to adapt our safety concerns to the new world we live in. E.coli 0157:H7 is considered a   bioterrorism agent,  yet children are allowed to have contact with animals that are known to shed this toxin in their manure.  Fifty years ago, STEC was not in the intestines of ruminant animals (cows, goats, sheep and deer).  Today it has infiltrated both wild and farm animals.  Animal contact safety standards need to be mandated in all states.  If we can mandate car seats for children, we can mandate farm animal contact safety standards. 

In 2004, North Carolina passed Aedin’s Law  when 108 became ill and 15 children developed HUS after attending a petting zoo at the North Carolina State Fair. Large outbreaks typically force change.  Aedin’s Law should be a model for all states to follow.  

We should be equally enraged that each year 230 children are hospitalized and 2 die from STEC infections after animal contact. Unfortunately, these numbers are only viewed as statistics spread across 50 states.  This is unacceptable!    

We know farm animals shed STEC and young children are at high risk for becoming ill.  We also know safety precautions can prevent illnesses. No parent should ever suffer the horror of losing a child, or having their child left with permanent brain damage, the loss of a colon or needing a kidney transplant because they simply attended a petting zoo.  Safety “recommendations” are not enough. 

It is time for all states to consider mandating safety standards for fairgrounds, petting zoos and other businesses that allow children to have contact with farm animals. Our young children deserve this protection.  

About the author: Mary McGonigle-Martin is co-board chair of STOP Foodborne Illness,  board member on Parker’s Promise, and a retired school counselor.

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Source: https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2024/12/it-is-time-for-mandated-safety-standards-for-fairgrounds-petting-zoos-and-other-farm-animal-businesses/