Participants in the Trek Rose Trip Morocco, including at least two teams from Quebec, had a nightmarish experience, when they had to evacuate the base camp where there was a major outbreak of a bacteria causing diarrhea and vomiting.
After months of preparation, Julie Morin from Quebec and her teammates, Marie-Hélène Raymond and Élisabeth Côté, have a bitter taste from their experience with the French agency Désertours.
Marie-Hélène Raymond, Julie Morin and Élisabeth Côté upon their arrival at Merzouga base camp, Morocco. (Photo taken from the Facebook page Les hamelles des dunes)
Photo taken from the Facebook page Les Camelles des dunes
For the Chamelles des dunes, the name of his group, the experience ended after two days of walking. They had to interrupt their journey after being overtaken by symptoms. They were still able to complete two loops totaling nearly 37 km.
According to Julie Morin, almost a quarter of the approximately 800 participants in the Rose Trip Trek have fallen ill, including a few who are still on a drip.
A base camp gathering place.
Photo taken from the Facebook page Les Camelles des dunes
“What’s horrible about that is that a week before, there was the Roses des Sables rally. The participants were staying in the same bivouac as us and they experienced the same problems,” she laments.
“This means that they welcomed us into a bivouac knowing very well what had happened a few days before without any corrective action being taken.”
Their nightmare began last weekend. It was from this moment that several participants began to become ill. They were gathered to take part in a desert orientation challenge reserved for women.
“We saw girls dropping like flies, lying on the ground waiting to receive care,” added the Quebecer.
Participants in the Trek Rose Trip Maroc, including a team from Quebec, had a nightmarish experience. (photo taken from the Facebook page Les Chamelles des dunes)
Photo taken from the Facebook page Les Camelles des dunes
She and her teammates question the sanitary conditions that prevailed on the scene. The tents where food was prepared were located near the toilets and their open-air discharges.
Marie-Claude Gagné-Vaillancourt, who was part of a team from Lavaltrie, deplores that the organizers downplayed what was happening. Her two teammates fell ill, including one who had to be rescued in the desert.
“There were around 30 toilets for 800 participants, in addition to volunteers. It’s definitely not enough. In addition, our water was cut off at night,” added M.me Vaillancourt who returned to the country on Wednesday evening.
Class action
To participate in this adventure, which was to be that of a lifetime for many, the participants had to pay $2,425, explained M.me Morin.
A Collective Trek Rose Trip 2023 & Trophée Roses des sables epidemic group was created on Facebook. Participants affected by this outbreak plan to seek compensation.
Medical analyzes are underway to determine the strain of the bacteria.
Reactions
Désertours claims to take the situation seriously. According to the French agency specializing in the organization of raids in the four corners of the world, “several trekkers and members of the organization have been affected by symptoms of acute gastroenteritis, the cause of which is still under investigation”, during the last challenge days.
“To our knowledge, around fifteen people have been hospitalized. On site, various measures were deployed with the medical team supporting the participants in order to preserve their health and ensure care for the most affected people in Moroccan hospitals,” the agency responded by email.
Désertours says it wants to shed light on the origin of the epidemic and how it spread, so that it can take corrective measures, if necessary. According to the agency, the participants of the Trek Rose Trip did not share the same bivouac as the participants of the Roses des Sables rally which was located approximately 25 km further.
All participants will have been repatriated to their country by the end of Friday, it was assured.