'One of the nursery children, who was nearly one year old, was off ill with diarrhoea and her mother took her to the doctor on the Thursday. She tested positive for E. coli 0157. The doctor immediately contacted the Environmental Health department, who phoned me. My first reaction was total shock, especially as I'd heard of children dying from the bug.
'Environmental Health came to the nursery the following day with sample pots so that all the children's and staff's faeces could be tested at a laboratory. We then had to wait 48 hours for the test results.
'Environmental Health were great and kept in touch with me throughout the weekend. On the Sunday I was informed that the nursery should not open the following day - they said they were not shutting the nursery down, just closing it as a precaution. I then phoned the parents to let them know.
They were all very supportive and kind, and Environmental Health arranged a meeting in the Powys council chambers to address any questions. A doctor and a person from the laboratory were in attendance to give in-depth answers.
'It was a surprise to see that Teletext had a story about the outbreak on the Sunday, but I still never imagined that the press would be outside the nursery when I arrived the next day. It was incredibly nerve- wracking to see cameras there. Environmental Health had issued a press release and advised me to make no comment, which I didn't.
'The staff and I spent the whole week in the nursery deep-cleaning it and replacing anything that was cracked or could not be cleaned. We were overwhelmed by phone calls from parents throughout the week, checking that we were also OK. We have always worked closely with parents and that good relationship really paid off.
'In the end, six children from Puffins were affected, with only the first child to contract E. coli needing hospitalisation. The nursery was closed for six days in total.
'The source of the infection was never fully confirmed. It was thought that a pupil using the after-school-club could have transmitted it from a local school. We will never know for sure.
'It was a nightmare, and to hear that there has now been an outbreak 20 minutes' drive away in Merthyr is worrying. I'd never want it to come back.
But we always knew that our hygiene procedures were good and that we had not done anything wrong. Puffins was just unlucky to get it, but very lucky that it was not severe and that all the children returned fit and well.'
