A VIRUS outbreak is being investigated after workers at Greenmeadow Community Farm in Torfaen contracted a bug.

One adult and three teenagers tested positive for cryptosporidium, with a further 13 possible cases in staff and volunteers under investigation.

There have been no reported cases of illness among members of the general public who visited the farm.

Dr Lika Nehaul, Consultant in Communicable Disease Control for Public Health Wales, said: “Cryptosporidium is a disease that is very common in young farm animals and can easily be passed to people who come into contact with those animals.

“It causes watery diarrhoea, stomach pain, nausea and vomiting, and can last for up to a month. Healthy people will usually make a full recovery.

“Everyone who has been unwell had direct contact with the bottle fed lambs and kid goats at Greenmeadow Community Farm. As part of our investigations, we are checking on all those whom we believe had contact with these animals. We are not aware of cases of illness in any visitors to the farm who did not feed these animals. However, as a precaution, the affected animals have been removed from the farm.

People who are unwell with vomiting or diarrhoea should not return to work or school for 48 hours after their symptoms have stopped.

More information on cryptosporidium is available from the website link on the right.