E. coli food poisoning in Aisne: confirmation of a link with several butcher shops

Tests conducted after the death of an 11-year-old child and dozens of cases of severe E. coli food poisoning have confirmed the link with several of the suspected butcher shops, the Aisne prefecture announced Wednesday.

The first results of the genomic sequencing of the bacteria "provide irrefutable proof of a correspondence between the bacteria found in several butcher shops or in the meat they sold and the bacteria found in several patients," the prefecture said in a press release.

This establishes "a formal biological link between the place of supply and the contamination of the patients." Among the 30 cases recorded, a figure unchanged since the previous day, are a 73-year-old person and 29 children, including Elise, who died on June 16 at the age of 11. The prefecture indicated Tuesday evening that "the health of the infected people is improving," with four remaining hospitalized.

Six butcher shops had been closed as a precaution , but only one was able to reopen. Analyses will continue "for all butcher shops" that remain closed and for all cases identified, the prefecture continued. The results "have been communicated to the Paris prosecutor's office in charge of the judicial investigation, which will help identify those responsible," the prefecture added.