2 children get E. coli illness, closing day care

Susan Olp of The Billings Gazette reported today that at least two children who attend Little Seeds Early Childhood Center in downtown Billings are ill with an E. coli infection that is potentially serious and can be transmitted to others. The outbreak led the day-care center to voluntarily close until the end of the week while the Yellowstone City-County Health Department investigates.
One child was diagnosed in Billings and the other in Bozemant. The health department is not certain if something at the day-care center was the source of the infection, or if it is coincidental that the two children both attend there.
After the health department learned of the two cases at Little Seeds at 2800 Fourth Ave. N., the daycare closed the same afternoon. Little Seeds is scheduled to reopen Monday.
They are hopeful that the illness is linked to a one-time incident and not an ongoing problem.