UW-Madison to implement Stock Pavilion changes

UW–Madison will implement changes to the physical environment and management practices of the UW Stock Pavilion to help protect the health of all users and visitors.

The recommendations are from the final report of a cross-college advisory committee charged with improving safety in the Stock Pavilion in the wake of an Oct. 6 outbreak of illness caused by the E.coli 0157:H7 bacterium.

Among the committee’s key Stock Pavilion recommendations:

• Until a new, more easily cleaned floor is constructed and effective sanitation processes are in place, public events involving food and drink will not be held in the Stock Pavilion.
• The new floor should be made of concrete, or a comparable material, that can be disinfected and thus be less likely to harbor E.coli or other enteric bacteria. The new floor will replace the current clay surface.
• The new floor will allow the facility to be used for its primary purpose of classes and events involving animals, as well as gatherings sponsored by campus alumni associations, student groups and others.
• Visitors and users of the facility will be asked to wash their hands upon exiting the facility. New hand-washing stations have been installed near the entrance of Stock Pavilion. New signs on doors and inside the Stock Pavilion will inform visitors of the health risks presented by an animal-use facility while asking them to cooperate by washing their hands, and refraining from eating and drinking. Health information packets will be provided to all Stock Pavilion users to raise awareness of the new rules.
• Stock Pavilion events will be scheduled and managed by a single office, which will oversee removal of bedding after animal events and sanitation of the arena floor. In addition, the new floor and cleaning method will be frequently tested through microbiological sampling to ensure that the floor remains sanitary.

Paul Ludden, executive associate dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, and chairman of the advisory committee, says the committee agreed that the shortage of gathering space on campus makes it important for the facility to continue its traditional role as a place for animal events and public gatherings.

“The health and safety of facility users and the UW–Madison campus community are our paramount concerns,” Ludden says. “We believe these recommendations will fulfill those goals while also ensuring that the Stock Pavilion can continue in its role as a dual-use facility.”

Although CALS would like to build a new floor as soon as possible, the current budget situation makes the timing of the project, which is projected to cost more than $100,000, uncertain, Ludden adds.

In a related matter, it has been conclusively determined that sawdust on Stock Pavilion flooring material harbored the E.coli bacterium, says University Health Services epidemiologist Craig Roberts in his final report on the Oct. 6 incident.

During the Stock Pavilion investigation, E.coli was detected in the sawdust, on the walls and railings and in the stool sample of a dairy cow present in the facility prior to the pancake breakfast. Roberts says he was not able to identify an exact route of infection, but he adds that it is plausible that attendees became infected through indirect contact with animal waste products in the sawdust while waiting in line for food.

The original source of the bacterium also can not be determined, he says. The dairy cow that tested positive for E.coli was probably infected through contact with the sawdust bedding, and was not itself a original source.

Roberts adds that difficulty in pinpointing a conclusive source or route of infection is fairly common in E.coli cases.

Based on his interviews of attendees, Roberts says the only notable difference between those who became ill and others who were unaffected was a longer wait in a line for food. Those who fell ill waited for a mean time of 18 minutes, versus eight minutes for those who were not affected.

“The most important thing is that we’ve learned enough to take the right steps to help prevent another incident,” he says.

More than 1,000 people attended the Stock Pavilion pancake breakfast prior to the Wisconsin-Indiana football game. Thirty-four members of the UW–Madison community, including two Dane County children, experienced diarrhea, abdominal cramping, fatigue or nausea.

The Stock Pavilion was built in 1910 and is used for a variety of university and public events, including agriculture classes, animal shows, concerts and expositions.