Petting zoo results in death of toddler

A 20-month-old toddler has died after his family visited a petting zoo at the county fair.

Authorities believe that a deadly strain of E. coli was the culprit in Colton Guay’s death, which likely was caused by contact with animals at a petting zoo at the Oxford County Fair, according to a Fox News report.

Most strains of E. coli are harmless, but this particular strain was a deadly one that can result in anemia and kidney failure. Children, the elderly, and people with compromised immune systems are most at risk to this disease, which caused Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) in Colton. HUS destroys red blood cells and disables the filtering system of the kidneys, which has the end result of organ failure. HUS is the most common cause of kidney failure in children, based on National Institutes of Health data as reported by Fox.

It has not been confirmed that the petting zoo caused Colton to come down with an infection, but authorities strongly suspect this to be the case because another toddler has contracted HUS that was also at the petting zoo.

Colton’s father, Jon Guay, and his wife Beth were reportedly devastated. Jon Guay posted on his Facebook page that they had experienced a very painful event and had to endure taking their son to the hospital and watching him suffer from severe diarrhea and brain seizures, until he eventually died at the hospital. This event happened around the same time as the couple got news that they were expecting a girl in February.

There is “no pain worse than losing the life of your [child],” he said in the post.