( ®he talesman • SINCE 1854 • AMALGAMATED 1999 WITH CLARINGTON THIS WEEK • It's not a 'killer ? WALTER PASSARELLA/Statesman photo From left, public health officials Dr. Bill Mindell of York Region, Region, Dr. Donna Reynolds of Durham Region and associate medical officer of Toronto Allison McGreer, discuss an outbreak outbreak of E. coli during a press conference Monday. 'No cause for alarm' in E. coli outbreak: health officials BY SUSAN O'NEILL Staff Writer DURHAM -- It may lake years for health officials in the Greater Toronto Area to eradicate an outbreak of a drug-resistant strain of E. coli that has infected residents at eight facilities in Durham Region and may have contributed to four deaths, public health officials said Monday. "It's not something that's going to be over in the short term," Allison McGeer, an infectious infectious disease specialist at Toronto's Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital, told reporters gathered at Durham Region headquarters in Whitby Monday. "It could take years" to control control the outbreak ol'E. coli, which has infected more than 100 people people in Durham, York and Toronto, Toronto, she said. However, despite the conv ments, Dr. Donna Reynolds, Durham's associate medical officer officer of health, said, "There is no cause for alarm for the general public... this is not a killer organism." organism." ■ E. Coli is "a bacteria found in the normal human bowel and is necessary for digestion," she said, noting the extended spectrum spectrum beta lactamase (ESBL) strain, which is under investigation, investigation, "has acquired resistance to some of these antibiotics. 'The ESBL E. coli is not 0157:H7, which is the strain that causes hamburger disease or the waterborne outbreak that caused illness in Walkcrton just over a year ago. ESBL E. coli does not cause diarrhea, vomiting or other gastrointestinal symptoms," she said, adding most people who test positive for the bacteria do not display any symptoms. Ms. McGeer reported it's not known where the strain originated originated or how it arrived in the GTA. She said someone who had been in hospital in another country, country, perhaps Europe or Asia, might have brought the strain, which is "unusual in North America", into the country. "What we know is it's not spread through the air, it's not in the water, it's not in the food," she said. "It's passed from one person to another." The strain of E. coli is transmitted transmitted through contact with the feces of an infected person, she said, noting precautionary measures measures such as hand washing and using gloves in long-term facilities facilities are helping to curb the spread of the bacteria. "We have clearly reduced its rate of transmission," she said. "I feel we arc bringing it under control," added Dr. Reynolds. "We arc monitoring for new cases regularly." The drug-resistant strain of E. coli was identified in a cluster of seven patients at a Durham hospital hospital last July. Dr. Reynolds reported, reported, noting further investigation investigation revealed a potential link to two long-term care facilities within Durham. She noted physicians in the Durham area were alerted to the ESBL bacteria in early August. Long-term care facilities were also notified and the health department's department's investigation "included "included sample screening at all See E.COLIpage 4 Pay raise has 'merit' : MP CELIA BRONKHORST/ Statesman photo Blowing in the wind During Epsom United Church 125th anniversary célébra- Ann Maloney of Bowmanville got together after Sunday dons, cousins Joanne Sevier of Epsom, left, and Isabelle school to have some fun and blow some bubbles. Report suggests 20-per cent hike BY JACQUIE McINNES Staff Writer CLARINGTON - A local MP says there is some merit to.a,,,„. report recommending a 20 per cent hike in salaries for federal representatives and an elimination elimination of a tax-free component in the wages. MP Alex Shepherd says the report by an independent commission, commission, released yesterday, addresses addresses an inequity in pay increases increases for MPs over the past decade. "From 1991 to 2000, the average industrial wage went up 23 per cent. MPs' wages went up 7.2 per cent," he says, noting the recommendation "probably has some merit." Mr. Shepherd points out the commission took a number of other factors into consideration in completing its report. It is recommending recommending eliminating a $22,000 tax-free component and replacing it with equivalent taxable taxable dollars in addition to the 20 per cent raise. MPs currently earn the equivalent of $109,000 in taxable earnings. If the commission's commission's recommendations are followed, MPs will receive a raise to $132,000. Mr. Shepherd admits he is uncomfortable uncomfortable with the process where MPs determine their own MP ALEX SHEPHERD 'It's a terrible thing'for MPs to vote on own wages. salaries, even if a recommendation recommendation has been made by an outside outside party. "It's a terrible thing for the members of parliament to have to sit here and vote on their own wages. Some people say tying it to something, like judges' wages, is much more preferable. The problem is you've got members here that aren't worth what they're being paid and others worth three to four times that money." Still, he says, he can understand the logic behind the increase. "Part of the argument is to attract people to this vocation," and salaries must be competitive with what they are leaving in the private sector, he suggests. ACCREDITED TEST & REPAIR FACILITY ♦An ollk'Iul mark of the Province of Ontario used under licence. Whitby - Oshawa onda 1110 DUNDAS. ST. E., WHITBY LOCAL (905) 666-1772 honda www.honda1.com Inside lit Statesman WHERE TO FIND IT Editorial Page 6 Classified 9 Sports 13 GIVE US A CALL General.. .905-623-3303 Distribution 905-579-4407 Death Notices .. v..... .905-683-3005 Sincerely Yours 1-800-662-8423 Web site durhamregion.com Email jbobbitt@durhamregion.com FAX 905-623-6161 Courtice high school opening in jeopardy MIKE LANGLOIS 'This is an approved school site.' Officials play beat the clock BY JENNIFER STONE Staff Writer COURTICE - School board officials are working against the clock to get municipal approval to start construction so a Courtice Catholic high school can open as scheduled in September 2002. And board staff and trustees hope to meet with municipal staff and politicians, in an effort to expedite expedite the process for both this school and future building projects projects in Clarington. "At this stage in the game we're not saying the school will not be open in time," says Joel Sloggctt, planning man ager with the Peterborough Victoria Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Clarington Catholic District School Board. However, he says the board will "need to proceed as quickly as possible" to meet the scheduled opening date. Site plans for the school, which is to be built next to Good Shepherd Shepherd Catholic Elementary School on Farmington Drive in Courtice, were submitted to the municipality municipality for approval in March, says Mr. Sloggctt. However, due to difficulties with storm sewers and road access, the plan has yet to be approved. "We had to get an alternate alternate access because (municipal staff) don't want all the traffic (from the school) to go through the subdivision", says Mr. Sloggctt. The alternate access meant severing a strip of land to Courtice Road, then getting permission permission from the municipality's land division committee to complete complete the severance. "They (the municipality) changed the access on us. They changed the sewer system. This is an approved secondary school site," says director of education Mike Langlois. "It's not something something we pulled out of the air." But Tony Cannella, Clarington's manager of engineering, says the requirements the board faces "are normal requirements for any development." development." The storm sewer to Courtice Road is necessary "so (the drainage) doesn't adversely affect anybody." Cowan PONTIAC-BUICK GMCTRUCK 166 KING ST. E., BOWMANVILLE 623-3396 •SMO/OrMId Am OT 4 door, loaded, leather, power Swÿpimf sunroof, chrome alloy wheels, CD, plus lots -. mioie,oi» owner. SI 7 QC