Overview
- UKHSA has issued seasonal guidance ahead of Easter urging thorough handwashing with soap and warm water after animal contact because hand gels do not replace proper washing.
- Surveillance from 2024 recorded 24 cryptosporidiosis outbreaks tied to lambing events or petting farms, with 21 occurring between March and May.
- Farm animals can pass Cryptosporidium and E. coli O157 through contact with animals, droppings, or contaminated gates, which puts young children, pregnant people and those with weak immunity at higher risk.
- UKHSA also urges people outdoors to be tick aware as activity rises from April to July, citing 1,581 confirmed Lyme cases in 2024, including 239 in the South West.
- If illness follows a visit, contact a GP or NHS 111, stay off work or school until 48 hours symptom-free, avoid swimming for two weeks after cryptosporidiosis, and seek urgent care for blood in diarrhoea.