Mums and dads with children at nursery schools in the greater Belfast area in particular will be following recent news stories with a degree of apprehension. There have been tests at three nurseries and one child has been admitted to hospital with the potentially nasty 0157 strain of the bug.

E.coli is a bacterium often found in people and animals and is generally harmless to humans. It can even be beneficial to its hosts by helping to keep germs out of the intestine.

However, some strains can be nasty, causing gastroenteritis, neonatal meningitis and even septicaemia and pneumonia. As most people are aware, on rare occasions E.coli infections can even be fatal, mainly to the very old or very young.

The Eastern Health and Social Services Board has adopted a sensible approach to the latest E.coli incidents. Its strategy so far has been open and accountable, presenting parents with information in a reassuring manner and establishing an effective test-and-monitor programme.

Hopefully, scientists will soon trace the source of the virulent strain and eliminate any sources of infection.