Food poisoning in Aisne: a link between the E. coli bacteria and several butcher shops confirmed

Google News Subscribe

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 on Wednesday, July 2.

Also read

Summary: 28 people affected, one child deceased, several butcher shops identified... What we know about food poisoning in Aisne

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 indicated in a press release.

This establishes "a formal biological link between the place of supply and the contamination of 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 state of health of the infected people is improving" , with four remaining hospitalized.

Six butcher shops had been closed as a precaution; only one was able to reopen. Testing will continue "for all butcher shops" that remain closed and for all cases identified, the prefecture continued.

The results "were communicated to the Paris prosecutor's office in charge of the judicial investigation which will make it possible to identify those responsible," the prefecture added.