"Frankly, it's scary": in Aisne, after a series of food poisonings, psychosis sets in among parents

From epidemic to rumor, it's only a small step. In just a few days, 19 children in Saint-Quentin (Aisne) were victims of food poisoning, which claimed the life of a 12-year-old girl. And since then, the subject has been on everyone's lips and has become the subject of a veritable psychosis.

"In front of the school, you can feel that atmosphere; there are a lot of worried parents," says Élodie in the school's parking lot, dropping off her little girl, who doesn't eat lunch in the cafeteria. Outside the gate, after lunchtime on Monday, June 23, the parents chat discreetly. Theories abound, sometimes bordering on conspiracy theories.

"I'm very worried, especially since a few days ago, in the Saint-Quentin post office, they found an envelope with powder inside. I don't want to accuse anyone, but I wonder if something happened related to this powder," wonders Gérard, a 63-year-old father, at the gate of the primary school.

Just a stone's throw from the hospital, a family reported seeing other, yet debunked, reports on Facebook that questioned the drinking water. "Apparently, you should avoid drinking tap water. We hear so much on the internet that we're scared, so we're wary of everything," said a mother of two boys, one of whom is reportedly suffering from symptoms, just like her husband.

For the past ten days or so, since the appearance of the first cases , anxiety has been rising. Questions and theories have had time to take root, while uncertainties have been accumulating since the beginning. What is the exact origin of this black series? Suspicions are turning to meat sold in six butcher shops, including two supermarket sections .

A hyper-localized phenomenon that reawakens the painful memory of the Buitoni affair, where pizzas made in the north led to the death of two children after the appearance of the same bacteria, E.coli.

In the town of about 50,000 inhabitants, it's not difficult to come across people affected by this episode. "Someone in my family was affected, a seven-year-old child who is hospitalized and in a coma. Honestly, it really scares me," Khaoula, a concerned mother of six who recently moved to the town, tells us.

"I keep an eye on my children, especially at night, but so far they have no symptoms. I completely avoid buying meat; it scares me too much," she adds.

For families, life has changed abruptly. Some are stopping eating meat altogether, emptying their fridges, and compulsively scrubbing their freezers. Others are pulling their children out of school cafeterias despite the lack of any connection to the poisonings. And the slightest ailment triggers heightened anxieties.

"The director called me this morning to tell me to come and pick up my daughter, she's vomiting... We shouldn't panic either, it might have nothing to do with it, it was very hot this weekend. But we're worried, like all parents, especially after the little girl died," says Gérard, who says he had a barbecue a few days earlier.

A small number of meat vendors have had their businesses closed while government agencies conduct health investigations. But that's all it took to push residents to temporarily switch to a vegetarian diet. "Today I had about fifteen, compared to 50 to 80 normally," sighs Fabrice, a local butcher whose business remains open.

"I think everyone is afraid. We hear so many versions, so we don't really know. People don't want to eat meat anymore, but we don't know if it's beef, lamb... We don't know anything," the craftsman laments. Analyses, the results of which are expected by the end of the week, should shed light on this question.

In these exceptional circumstances, a mixture of anxiety and unknowns, the prefecture has decided to set up an information and listening unit. The phone rings like so many distress messages. A flood of questions from parents seeking reassurance for their children or for themselves, and more than 200 phone calls in three days.

"I'm stopping you, this doesn't affect desserts or fries..." Nadine Lombardi, deputy chief of staff for the Aisne prefecture, assured a mother during an exchange.

"We respond to all calls that the population may need, mainly from residents worried about their children and themselves after buying meat (...) If they have symptoms, we refer them to 15," explains the director of security at the prefecture.

The goal: to reassure, document each person's situation, and disseminate best practices. If problematic meat has been purchased and remains in the refrigerator or freezer, it must be disposed of. Follow basic hygiene guidelines such as handwashing. And, especially among younger people, monitor for the potential appearance of symptoms.

These are precautions that must be maintained until the alert is lifted. On the health front, investigations are continuing. But after the death of a little girl, these hospitalizations also bring justice. The Saint-Quentin prosecutor's office announced the opening of a preliminary investigation against unknown persons "on the counts of 'involuntary manslaughter,' 'involuntary injury,' 'endangering the lives of others,' and 'deception regarding merchandise presenting a danger to human life,'" according to a press release.