No one will ever know how Lucinda Klus-Roberts contracted the virulent food poisoning bug E coli 0157.

She died in a London hospital just a few days after her ninth birthday despite the best efforts of top child doctors to save her.

Now her parents, Jayne and Peter, from Seaford, are taking part in a campaign for greater awareness of the killer virus and how it can be prevented.

Fortunately, E coli poisoning is rare in this country but it is to be avoided at all possible costs. There are some simple, practical precautions that can be taken.

One is to ensure that beef, especially hamburgers, is cooked thoroughly so that there are no raw bits which could carry the infection.

Another is for higher standards of hygiene in all places where food is prepared and handled.

One of the simplest precautions is for fridges to be installed in all schools so that children can place their packed lunches there. Many schools have already done this.

Hospitals such as the Royal Alexandra in Brighton have already taken further measures to identify the disease quickly once it is suspected.

But the area of most concern is abattoirs where animals such as cows are slaughtered and in the way animals are treated on farms.

There has already been concern that lax standards could have led to the spread of foot-and-mouth disease and to mad cow disease. They may spread E coli as well.