“It is the largest epidemic that has ever been described in France”. Questioned on Wednesday March 30 by France Inter, the epidemiologist of Public Health France Gabrielle Jones did not hide her concern. In question: the sudden resurgence since the end of February of serious cases of food poisoning, linked to contamination by the bacterium Escherichia coli (E.coli).
Forty children fell ill, victims of a haemolytic uraemic syndrome, which results in acute kidney failure and serious blood problems. Two of them died. For some, a link has been established with the consumption of frozen pizzas from the Buitoni brand. A situation that raises several questions.
1What is E.coli bacteria?
Escherichia coli, known as E.coli, refers to a family of bacteria present in large numbers in the digestive tract. Not all of them are dangerous to health. On the contrary, some of them play a role in the proper functioning of the body. But some can cause poisoning.
“This is the case of strains of so-called enterohaemorrhagic E.coli (EHEC) (…) which cause bloody diarrhea and produce a powerful toxin at the origin of the haemolytic and uraemic syndrome”exposes the Institut Pasteur.
In the vast majority of cases, the infection occurs while eating. “The natural reservoir of EHEC being mainly the digestive tract of cattle, the food products concerned are generally raw or undercooked meat, dairy products made from raw milk, and more rarely raw vegetable products”, details the Institute. In even rarer cases, cases of transmission between individuals can take place “in a family environment or in communities”like nativity scenes.
2What can be the consequences of contamination?
Once present in the gut, dangerous strains of E.coli release “a toxin, which will cause microthromboses in the small vessels, especially those of the kidney, and therefore cause kidney failure, but also a drop in platelets, anemia”details at Parisian Professor Bruno Moulin, nephrologist in Strasbourg.
The first symptoms usually appear between 3 and 10 days after infection. In most cases, it is abdominal pain accompanied by diarrhea, which can become bloody. In some situations, vomiting and fever may occur.
In the elderly and young children, the disease can progress, in about 10% of cases, to “hemolytic uremic syndrome” (HUS). “People affected then show signs of great fatigue, pallor, a decrease in the volume of urine, which becomes darker, and sometimes convulsions. Treatment at the hospital may include, among other things, blood transfusions and /or dialysis”details the Ministry of Solidarity and Health on its website.
In about one case of HUS in four, neurological complications that can lead to a coma appear, adds the Pasteur Institute. This is what happened to Bérénice, who had eaten a Buitoni pizza with her family on March 16. Aged 7, this young girl who lives near Tours (Indre-et-Loire) is now hospitalized in a coma, placed on a respirator after two cardiac arrests, tell her parents on RMC radio.
“It started with the kidneys, it went up to the heart. The kidneys no longer working, it released a lot of toxins, which reached the neurological side. It made him have amnesia, hallucinations.”
Mickaël and Leslie, parents of a 7-year-old girl infected with E. coliat RMC
3What do we know about the recent resurgence of cases?
A total of 41 serious cases of hemolytic and uremic syndromes have been identified and 34 additional are being assessed, according to the latest count established by Public Health France on Wednesday. Sick children range in age from 1 to 18 years, with a median age of 7 years. Two of them died as a result of these contaminations.
These 75 cases occurred in 12 regions of metropolitan France: Hauts-de-France (16 cases), New Aquitaine (11), Pays de la Loire (10), Ile-de-France (9), Brittany (7), Grand Est (5), Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (4), Center Val-de-Loire (4), Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (3), Bourgogne Franche-Comté (2), Normandy (2) and Occitania (2).
“We are already at half of what we usually observe over a year.is alarmed Gabrielle Jones, epidemiologist at Public Health France, at the microphone of France Inter. With 41 so-called cases ‘epidemic’this is the highest number of cases linked to the same epidemic that we have ever observed”.
Many parents whose children have recently suffered from HUS tell on Facebook that they have eaten these pizzas in recent weeks. Until Wednesday, health authorities believed there was a link “possible” between these contaminations and the pizzas of the Fraîch’Up range of the Buitoni brand. But since then, analyzes “have confirmed a link between several cases and consumption” of those frozen pizzas. However, the authorities do not specify whether this is the case for the contaminations which caused the two deaths.
4How did Buitoni react?
“Today, we do not understand what could have happened, but we are going to develop an analysis protocol that we will submit to the authorities.reacted Jérôme Jaton, industrial general manager of Nestlé, during a press conference on Wednesday. I am wholeheartedly with these families who have cases of poisoning, often with young children”he added, recalling that a freephone number for consumers had been set up (0800 22 32 42).
Since March 18, Nestlé has closed two production lines at its factory near Caudry (North) in order to carry out analyses. “We are ready to question ourselves completely on the potential causes”assures Jérôme Jaton, who does not rule out contamination in pizza dough, even if infections usually come from meat.
5What should I do if I ate a suspicious pizza?
Health authorities carried out a massive recall of Buitoni’s Fraîch’Up pizzas in mid-March, asking consumers to destroy these products if they find any in their freezers. This recall potentially affects many consumers, as the Nestlé group claims to produce between 100 and 150,000 of these pizzas per week.
More generally, the Ministry of Health recalled in mid-March that “the E.coli responsible for HUS (…) tolerate cold well (survival in a refrigerator or freezer), but are destroyed by cooking”.
In the event of the appearance, within ten days after eating the pizza, of diarrhoea, abdominal pain or vomiting, the health authorities point out the need to consult a doctor. The consultation is also necessary if, within 15 days, signs of great fatigue, pallor, or a decrease in the volume of urine, which become darker, appear. “In the absence of symptoms within 15 days of consumption, it is also reminded that there is no need to worry”concludes the DGS.