Ecoli scare?

Question

I am a nanny, the mother of the family that I work for has Ecoli, and she has a kidney infection, I've noticed that they are really unclean with food and meat, ( they transfer raw meat from sink to couter to the fridge then set things on top of the raw meat in the fridge,They do not wash their hands or counter tops,

Plus the mother has a boyfriend who is very unclean. and they will touch the dog waste and empty garbages without washing their hands. I won't eat any food when I am at work, but today she wants me to come with when she takes to kids to the pool (can Ecoli spread in a pool), Should I not get in the water with them, What are ways that I can stay safe without offending them.

I need to keep this job it pays more then any job I've ever had.

Answer 1

You can encourage better hygiene through good diplomacy. For instance, since you are the nanny, you can tell the kids to wash their hands early and often. The mom might pick up on those habits, too. Carry a bottle of hand sanitizer (check the label, it needs to have at least 62% ethyl alcohol) with you so when the sink isn't readily available, you can give the kids (and mom and boyfriend) a good splurt of sanitizer gel. Offer the gel as often as needed.

Now, you mention kidney infection and E. coli. A lot of urinary tract infections start with E. coli because it is present in our stools. Wiping the wrong way can spread some poo and E. coli to the urethra, resulting in infection.

The thing is, E. coli is a diverse species. The bad E. coli that keeps making the news is E. coli O157:H7. This is NOT the E. coli that naturally flourishes in our bodies, and likely NOT the E. coli that is causing the woman's kidney infection.

Still, the woman's foodhandling skills seem to be lacking. A health inspector would shut her down REALLY fast. http://www.foodsafety.gov is a good resource for info about how to handle food safely. You could just kindly inform her that cross contamination could be extremely dangerous to her children, and show her how to avoid cross contamination problems.

As for the pool, any number of waterborne germs can be a problem at a public pool. Your charges don't present any new or additional risks to the pool. If she's got a progressed urinary tract infection, she'd be quite foolish to go in the water. Pool water can get into the urethra and aggravate the infection. Still, if you haven't had problems with public pools before, then you should be fine to get in the water.

Answer 2

you don't get kidney infections in the kitchen.
the way you stay safe is to wash your hands often and continue to refuse to eat with them