Health authorities have not released more information about the child that has died, but 13 other cases in children have prompted a nationwide investigation into the possible source.
Health authorities in France are monitoring an outbreak of E.coli following the death of a child and the detection of 13 cases across the country.
Santé publique France (SPF) issued the alert after the contaminations were first noticed at the beginning of February. The authority has confirmed that one child has died, but has not released information of the date of the death, location, or the age of the child.
Among children aged 1-15, there have been:
- 5 cases reported in Nouvelle-Aquitaine
- 3 cases in Hauts-de-France
- 3 cases in Ile-de-France
- 1 case in Brittany
- 1 case in Pays de la Loire.
All of the children were affected by haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS), a potentially serious disease in young children, most often caused by food.
It is usually characterised by severe diarrhoea, which can lead to acute renal failure, and usually caused by bacteria belonging to the Escherichia coli (E.coli) family.
The SPF inquiry is looking into every report of similar cases as they are reported to paediatric units, and is aiming to “identify a common source of contamination and put appropriate measures in place”.
It has “not excluded any possibility at this stage”, it said.
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