Perilous
Times
Seven French children hospitalised by E. coli outbreak
By Delphine Paysant | AFP
Seven children were hospitalised in France with E. coli infections
after eating meat that may have been imported from Germany, but
health authorities said there was no link to a similar bacteria
outbreak there.
The children, aged from 20 months to eight years old, had eaten
defrosted hamburgers made by the French company SEB which said the
meat was taken from animals slaughtered in Germany, Belgium and
the Netherlands, and processed in France.
The cases come after a major E. coli outbreak that killed 39
people -- all in Germany except for one woman who died in Sweden
after visiting Germany -- and sickened 3,300 people in 16
countries.
Doctor Michel Foulard of the University Hospital Centre where the
children were being treated in Lille, northern France, said one of
them was in critical condition.
Officials said the infection was a rare strain of the E. coli
bacteria but was not linked to the similar outbreak in Germany.
"There's meat from Germany, there's meat from Belgium and from
Holland" in the burgers, SEB chief executive Guy Lamorlette told
AFP.
"There are several suppliers. We will have to await the test
results to say which is contaminated."
Six of the children were hospitalised on Wednesday and a seventh
on Thursday, authorities said. They came from different towns in
France's Nord region, but there were no connections between them.
The "Steak Country" burgers were bought in French branches of
German supermarket Lidl. SEB said it had recalled them and Lidl
said it had removed them from its shelves in France.
Regional Health Agency (ARS) officials in Lille said the children
suffered from bloody diarrhoea, a symptom that also struck victims
of the outbreak in Germany which has been blamed on infected bean
sprouts.
They also became anaemic quickly and blood transfusions were
required for four of the children. Three others suffer from renal
failures severe enough to require dialyses, said Foulard.
"We are certain that this is not the same strain as the bean
sprouts in Germany," ARS head Daniel Lenoir, told reporters in
Lille, however.
The children suffer from a syndrome that "may be the source of an
acute renal failure", the ARS said, adding that the bacteria was a
"rare type" which produces dangerous "Shiga" toxins.
"This food poisoning...may be very serious," said ARS medical
advisor Joelle Perrin, after another official earlier in the day
said the cases were "serious but not worrying".
In Brussels, the European Commission said it had been informed of
the outbreak but "the origin of the meat has not been confirmed",
said Frederic Vincent, spokesman for Health Commissioner John
Dalli.
"There's no need to compare with Germany, because this isn't the
same strain of the E. coli bacteria. This is different, even if
it's as strong," Vincent said.
SEB boss Lamorlette said that the origin of the illness had yet to
be confirmed.
"I'm not saying it's false (that the contamination came from the
burgers), just that for now nothing is confirmed. It's a
possibility, that's all. We have to await the test results before
saying anything."
Lamorlette insisted that the suspicious meat had been subjected to
stringent tests and declared fit for human consumption, suggesting
consumer negligence such as under-cooking or refreezing could be
to blame.
Belgian health authorities on Thursday denied the country was
behind the toxic meat exports "but other European countries".