Akron, Ohio ? With their front hooves propped up on the fence, the goats boosted themselves high enough to get their heads over the fence and their mouths into the palms of the boys’ hands, where the prized crackers waited to be licked up and devoured.

When the crackers were gone, the students wiped their hands on their pants, ready to move on to the next exhibit.

Whoa, hold on, though. There was something they had to do first.

“Wash your hands, guys,” said Mike Lindsey, who was helping to supervise the Crouse Elementary School class visiting the Akron Zoo.

“I’ve heard about the scare of E. coli at (petting zoos),” Lindsey said, “and the importance of washing your hands.”

True enough, a recent federal study covering 1990 to 2000 blamed petting zoos and fairs in more than two dozen outbreaks of Escherichia coli O157:H7 – usually referred to as E. coli – which can cause severe diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and in about 2 percent to 7 percent of cases, life-threatening kidney complications.

Children under 5 and the elderly are most susceptible to the infections.

Just last month, the Florida Department of Health found a “definitive link” between an outbreak of 26 E. coli infections and petting zoo animals at three central Florida fairs, while it continues to investigate 42 more suspected cases.

John Joseph J.J. Dempsey, 2, and his mother, Leafie, visit the Akron Zoo animal petting area where people are encouraged to use soap and water or hand cleaner after touching the animals.

Last year in North Carolina, more than 100 people, mostly children, were infected by E. coli at the state fair.

Two E. coli outbreaks in 2000 – resulting in 56 illnesses and 19 hospitalizations in Pennsylvania and Washington – led the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to establish recommendations for preventing the disease when people come in contact with animals.

The main recommendation is a simple one – wash your hands.

The CDC suggests that you scrub your hands vigorously with soap and water (preferably hot water) for at least 20 seconds.

Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are effective against many organisms, including E. coli, if soap and water are not available.

However, the CDC says, hand sanitizers are not effective against bacterial spores, Cryptosporidium and some viruses. Hand sanitizers also are less effective when hands are visibly dirty.