“It’s a very large event,” said Gabrielle Jones, Wednesday March 30, on France Inter. The epidemiologist at Public Health France is concerned about contamination with the bacterium Escherichia coli, known as E.coli, which has led, in recent weeks, to 75 cases of hemolytic and uremic syndromes (HUS), including 41 serious.
Until now, the health authorities considered “possible” the link between this resurgence of E. coli cases and frozen pizzas from the Fraîch’Up range, from the Buitoni brand. It was confirmed on Wednesday by Public Health France, after “epidemiological, microbiological and traceability analyses”, explains the agency in a press release. Two children also died, although the pizza connection was not confirmed in their cases. Each year, about 160 cases of HUS are reported in the country. “We are therefore already halfway through what we usually observe over a year,” adds Gabrielle Jones.
While a massive recall of products has been underway for two weeks, Public Health France calls “every household […] to ensure that his freezer does not contain” affected pizzas and, if not, “to destroy them”.
Diarrhea, abdominal pain and vomiting
HUS is an infectious disease whose origin is, most often, food. According to the National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (Anses), the main products in question are “undercooked minced beef, unpasteurized dairy products, raw vegetables (salad, young white radish shoots, sprouted seeds) or unpasteurized fruit or vegetable juices , unclean drinking water”.
In children, the syndrome is caused by an infection with bacteria belonging to the E.coli family. These colonize the digestive tract and release toxins (shigatoxins). Symptoms appear three or four days after contamination – ten at most: they are diarrhea, abdominal pain, sometimes vomiting. They “can evolve, after about a week, towards a severe form of the infection in about 10% of children”, indicates the Ministry of Health, and in particular cause kidney failure.
Children under 15, especially those under 5, and the elderly are most at risk of developing severe forms. The medical consultation, recalls the ministry, is also essential if, within fifteen days, appear signs of great fatigue, pallor or a reduction in the volume of urine, becoming darker.
Food risk prevention recommendations
While waiting to determine precisely the causes of the presence of E.coli bacteria in Buitoni pizzas, the health authorities reiterate the food risk prevention recommendations. They recall the importance of systematic hand washing before preparing meals; the proper cooking of certain products, in particular ground beef or flour-based preparations (pizza, cookie dough, cake, pie, etc.); washing vegetables, salads, fruits before handling them.
In addition, children should not drink untreated water or consume raw milk and milk cheeses. The youngest, those under 5 years old, must avoid contact with cows, sheep, goats, etc. These recommendations are not new: France has, since 1996, a system for monitoring haemolytic and uraemic syndromes.