NY Times-Letter to Editor

Letter to the editor

New York Times

letters@nytimes.com

September 19^th, 2011

Dear editor,

“A Mother’s War on Germs at Fast-food Play Lands” (Marc Lacey, Sept. 17^th), reports CDC spokeswoman Bernadette Burden saying, “the federal agency would get involved only if officials were concerned about a major disease breakout.” I disagree with this action and cannot believe that the CDC has not taken appropriate measures to address such unsanitary conditions. As a community member, it bothers me to know that children are exposing themselves to risks, when they should be enjoying a harmless activity. In addition, the NYU School of medicine tested 12 playgrounds in 4 major cities and found feces, salmonella, hepatitis A, and E.coli—all of which are harmful to a child [1]. Instead of waiting for a “major disease breakout” we should take preventive actions that avoid harm, such as a set of guidelines that enforce checking play areas regularly by health departments/sanitation agencies to ensure cleanliness.

Sincerely,

Paola Garcia

Website: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/18/us/a-mothers-war-on-germs-at-fast-food-playgrounds.html

[1]“Protect your child from playground germs”. Consumer Reports: Expert, Independent, and Nonprofit. Retrieved from: http://news.consumerreports.org/baby/2008/12/protect-your-ch.html on September 19th, 2011