THE mother of a young woman still in intensive care following Wrexham’s E.coli outbreak says her heart goes out to the mum of toddler twins struck down by the same bug at a farm in Surrey.
Rose Morrisroe said her 32-year-old daughter, Karen, was still making slow progress in Wrexham Maelor Hospital being treated for kidney failure after contracting E.coli at the end of July.
Mrs Morrisroe described how she has been closely following developments in Britain’s largest-ever outbreak of E.coli, which has so far affected 37 people who visited Godstone Farm, near Redhill.
The outbreak has left 13 children in hospital, including two-year-old twins Aaron and Todd Furnell.
The brothers have both suffered acute kidney failure but are now said to be in a stable condition in hospital.
Mrs Morrisroe said: “I have been following this story closely because of what happened to Karen.
“My heart goes out to the mother of the twin boys who have had kidney failure like her.
“I am glad to hear that they now seem to be recovering but this has brought it all back to me.”
She added: “There has been talk about the Health Protection Agency not closing the farm down soon enough after the E.coli link was discovered.
“I agree with that. If they knew there was a risk they should have closed it right away.
“This new outbreak shows that E.coli is not just a stomach upset but can turn into something far worse.”
Mrs Morrisroe said Karen, who works as a librarian in Wrexham and has a baby son, Oliver, continued to make slow progress in intensive care.
She is still breathing with the aid of a tracheotomy tube directly into her throat and a ventilator.
Her mother added: “They are taking her off the machine for a few hours each day but, as yet, she cannot be off it all the time.
“We think she will be in hospital for a few weeks yet and, because of the risk of infection, has still not been able to see Oliver.”