Outbreak of E. Coli in a daycare: several children hospitalized, some seriously ill

A daycare in Toulouse, France, had to carry out a thorough cleaning of its establishment after several children who were staying there became seriously ill with E. Coli bacteria.

Friday, November 10, several of the 54 children who attended the Minimes crèche had to be urgently hospitalized after developing symptoms of E. Coli bacteria, France 3 Occitanie reported on Tuesday.

Some of them even had to be sent to intensive care at the Purpan hospital center, reported the French media, without however having obtained data on the extent of the outbreak.

“We have put in place an on-call system from the weekend in order to inform families as well as crèche staff in real time,” explained Laurence Katzenmayer, assistant in charge of early childhood and crèches at Toulouse town hall.

Especially since the daycare would regularly meet neighboring residents of the accommodation establishment for dependent elderly people, as part of an intergenerational project, she clarified.

Fortunately, after their stay in hospital, the young people contaminated by the bacteria would have all recovered and would now be out of danger.

An investigation is reportedly underway to try to discover the origin of the bacteria which does not come from food, since the contaminated children would not have consumed the same foods and the analyzes of the latter would not have shown any sign of the presence of. Coli, according to initial information.

Samples were taken throughout the daycare to try to pinpoint the source, before a “thorough and rigorous cleaning” was carried out, continued Laurence Katzenmayer, according to France 3 Occitanie.

The daycare should reopen its doors on Wednesday, while all the children, their families and employees have all tested negative for the bacteria.