Zoo visitors urged to wash hands to avoid illness

People should not put hands on faces or fingers in mouths while petting animals, the agency said

People are being urged to practice correct hygiene when visiting petting farms and zoos during the half-term holiday, to avoid stomach bugs.

Hands should be washed, after contact with animals and especially before eating and drinking, the UK Health Security Agency West Midlands said.

Visitors may have touched fences or other surfaces in areas with animals.

Many animals could carry parasites and germs that could affect young children and pregnant women, the UKHSA stated.

Dr Roger Gajraj, West Midlands consultant in communicable disease control leading on gastro-intestinal infections for the agency, said hands should be washed thoroughly with soap and warm water.

"Thousands of people in the West Midlands region visit farm attractions each year, and while the number of people who become ill is proportionally quite small, many cases of illness could be avoided by practicing the correct hand hygiene," he said.

Dr Roger Gajraj asked people to wash hands thoroughly to avoid illness

Dr Gajraj also pointed out visitors may have been sitting on and touching grass that was contaminated in country parks or farmland.

Cases of gastro-intestinal infections associated with animals generally increased during spring and the lambing season and also summer when people were on holiday, the agency said.

Members of the public should eat and drink in picnic areas or cafés only and remove and clean boots or shoes that have become soiled and clean pushchair wheels before handwashing.

Anyone who is sick or has diarrhoea within two weeks of visiting a farm has been asked to contact their GP or NHS 111 as soon as possible.