Ellie said her three-year-old daughter developed Hepatitis A after a trip to Avon Beach, then spent five days in hospital. The Hampshire mother from Winchester said the child began vomiting two weeks after the visit, and eight weeks later was still taking medication and having blood tests.
Avon Beach and Christchurch Harbour
Three families said their children became seriously ill after spending time in and around Christchurch Harbour during the summer holidays. The Environment Agency is carrying out additional inspections and sampling as it looks at water quality concerns in the area.
Ellie said: "It should be a fun activity and a safe activity," and described how quickly the hospital response escalated. "It was very quickly scaled up to this is a serious kind of emergency situation."
Violet in hospital
Violet, Ellie’s three-year-old daughter, was diagnosed with Hepatitis A after the vomiting began. Ellie said: "My head immediately went to worst case scenario. It was terrifying."
She said: "It's not something I ever expected my child to be exposed to, especially in the UK where it is extremely rare," and added that she did not want her children to feel afraid of the water. "But I'm very conflicted about that because I also don't want them to go in the sea currently."
Environment Agency sampling
Aisling and her twin eight-year-old daughters are regular visitors to Avon Beach, while Keeva was diagnosed with a bacterial infection after swallowing seawater. The families believe the illnesses were linked to beach visits, but the exact source of the infections has not been established.
That leaves the practical question for nearby families unchanged for now: keep treating the water as a place under scrutiny while the inspections and sampling continue, and watch for the findings that may explain what exposed the children in the first place.
