32 children have been affected by the salmonella epidemic affecting the town of La Chevrolière (Loire-Atlantique), according to a new report communicated by the Regional Health Agency (ARS) of Pays de La Loire this Friday, April 19. The previous report, shared two days ago, reported 24 infected children.
“The epidemic now appears to be over. The number of sick children with a confirmed diagnosis of salmonella would be 32,” the ARS said in a press release.
Contaminated raw milk cheese
“Food surveys converge towards the raw milk cheese hypothesis,” a “probable hypothesis, because a sample taken from a cheese kept in the canteen tested positive for salmonella“says the agency. The Departmental Directorate of Population Protection has not yet confirmed this origin.
The 32 children, educated in two schools in La Chevrolière, presented symptoms between the end of March and the beginning of April. One of them was hospitalized but “he is fine today,” the city’s mayor, Johann Boblin, told Ouest-France.
Second cause of foodborne illnesses in Europe
In a statement on the subject, the National Agency for Food Safety, Environmental and Occupational Health (ANSES) specifies that “Infections due to bacteria of the genus Salmonella They represent the second leading cause of foodborne illnesses in Europe. They manifest as gastroenteritis, sometimes acute, but which, however, can affect certain sensitive populations more seriously.
“The consumption of raw milk cheese is not recommended for young children,” recalls the ARS in its press release, in particular because “it constitutes a food sensitive to microbial risk.”
Source: BFM TV
