Open Farm Sun­day is com­ing up on 11 June and pub­lic health experts are remind­ing vis­i­tors that there are small things they can do to reduce the risk from gas­tro-intesti­nal infec­tions such as Sal­mo­nel­la, Cryp­tosporid­i­um and E.coli, which can be passed from farm ani­mals to humans and cause illness.

UKHSA health pro­tec­tion teams are urg­ing any­one plan­ning a trip to the farm, to remem­ber the impor­tance of thor­ough­ly and fre­quent­ly wash­ing hands to avoid get­ting bugs which can make you seri­ous­ly ill. Once infect­ed, you can also pass the bugs on to oth­er peo­ple who can also become unwell.

Char­lotte Fly­nn, health pro­tec­tion con­sul­tant with UKHSA South East, said:

“Vis­it­ing a farm is a real­ly fun day out which is an enjoy­able and edu­ca­tion­al expe­ri­ence for many peo­ple, par­tic­u­lar­ly chil­dren. How­ev­er, it’s impor­tant to remem­ber that farm ani­mals can be the source of sev­er­al bugs that can be passed from ani­mals to humans and cause ill­ness. Some can be par­tic­u­lar­ly seri­ous for chil­dren or preg­nant women. 

“Infec­tions can be picked up from the animal’s body, its poo or from areas where ani­mals have recent­ly been. If the germs are on your hands, you could acci­den­tal­ly pass them to your mouth. You can’t see the germs, so your hands may appear clean.

“Wash­ing your hands thor­ough­ly with soap and warm water imme­di­ate­ly after you have had con­tact with ani­mals and before eat­ing any food will reduce the risk of infec­tion. Do not use gels or wipes instead of soap and water — gels and wipes do not remove bugs in dirt. Farms pro­vide hand wash­ing facil­i­ties, so we encour­age peo­ple to make use of these to ensure the only thing you take away from your vis­it is hap­py memories.” 

Annabel Shack­le­ton, LEAF Open Farm Sun­day Man­ag­er, said: 

“We want peo­ple to con­tin­ue to enjoy vis­it­ing farms and agri­cul­tur­al events safe­ly. This means mak­ing time after touch­ing ani­mals, pens or fenc­ing, to wash your hands thor­ough­ly with liq­uid soap, run­ning water and dry­ing them with dis­pos­able tow­els. Adults should always super­vise chil­dren to ensure that they wash their hands prop­er­ly and grow up learn­ing that clean hands are essen­tial before eat­ing! Anti bac hand gel is not a replace­ment for wash­ing hands, espe­cial­ly not when spend­ing time around ani­mals. If a dum­my drops on the ground it will need ster­il­is­ing, and boots, shoes and pushchairs need to be washed down too when leav­ing a farm. Remem­ber these sim­ple things to ensure your farm vis­it is both enjoy­able and safe.”

Open Farm Sun­day (11 June) will see many farms open their gates to the pub­lic which might not nor­mal­ly do so. For more details, includ­ing which farms are open, vis­it: Home­page — Open Farm Sunday