Two butcher shops in northern France have temporarily closed after a child died from severe food poisoning, said local authorities on Friday.
Eight children have come down with severe food poisoning since June 12 after consuming meat products from the two businesses in the northern city of Saint-Quentin.
Five of them contracted a rare foodborne illness called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), including a 12-year-old girl who died.
HUS in most cases occurs after someone ingests E.coli, commonly found in the gut of humans and warm-blooded animals. HUS can lead to kidney failure, permanent health problems and even death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
It is “impossible at this stage to confirm that the consumption of products from these two establishments is the source of the contamination,” local authorities said.
But the children all consumed meat or meat products from these two butchers a few days before symptoms appeared, it said.
Authorities have closed the two shops as a precautionary measure while samples from both stores are tested.
The authorities said they should have the results “early next week” and an investigation has been launched into where the meat came from.
HUS affects between 100 and 165 children in France each year, according to the country’s public health agency.
E. coli outbreaks have also made headlines recently in the U.S. Earlier this month, the Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced that ground beef that was distributed nationwide may be contaminated with E. coli.
In November, a carrot recall was issued by California grower Grimmway Farms after nearly 40 cases were recorded in 18 states. At least 15 people were hospitalized and one person died, the CDC said.
The month before that, an outbreak linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders killed one person in Colorado and affected at least 104 people across 14 states, according to the CDC.
