AN OUTBREAK of stomach flu in a childcare centre has distressed some parents, who are already jumpy over the current melamine scare.
At Cherie Hearts@Chevron in Boon Lay Way last week, at least 21 children were taken ill with viral gastroenteritis (viral GE). They showed symptoms such as vomiting and running a fever. These children were among 64 children, aged 18 months to six years old, who attend the centre.
Three parents my paper spoke to - who did not want to be named - said they suspected food poisoning. A young mother said her five-year-old son fell ill after attending the centre last week.
She asked: 'How can so many children fall ill at the same time?'
Said another parent, whose six-year-old son and two-year-old daughter fell sick over the weekend: 'The centre didn't tell me that there were other children suffering the same symptoms as my child.'
When contacted by my paper, group president of Cherie Hearts Group, Dr Gurchran Singh, 35, said the centre was informed by some parents that their children were suffering from viral GE.
He said: 'It's not uncommon for viruses to spread in childcare centres. We have sanitised the centre for three days, just as a precaution. We have closely monitored the children's condition and called parents twice a day.'
One parent whose child was affected but was not unduly concerned was Ms Goh Li Hwa, a 35-year old bank manager. Her daughter stayed home last Friday after feeling nauseous in the morning.
She said: 'I was informed by a teacher who called that other children at the centre had also been affected. I'm satisfied that the childcare centre has done its part.'
When contacted by my paper, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said that preliminary findings suggest an outbreak of viral GE, which occurs in childcare centres from time to time.
Dr Chong Chia Yin, head and senior consultant of the department of paediatric medicine, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, said viral GE is spread by exposure to vomit or stools and not usually by food or drink. Multiple children can contract the virus if they share an enclosed space.
Cherie Hearts said that all but two of the affected children have returned to school.
