Health authorities confirmed on Monday that eight people had died in Belgium after becoming infected with the STEC bacterium. The Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC) is trying to identify the source of the outbreak.
Cases have been detected in at least eight care homes in Flanders, where seven of the deaths occurred, as well as in one facility in Wallonia, where one person died. Additional cases have been reported in Brussels and Ottignies. A total of 63 residents are still ill: 48 in Flanders, 14 in Wallonia, and one in Brussels.
Most of the cases in Flanders involve the O157 strain. Tests are ongoing to establish whether the infections in Wallonia and Brussels are linked to the same source. Authorities suspect that contaminated food circulated through several care homes several weeks ago. Although no new food-related cases have been identified, officials warn that some recent illnesses may be due to human-to-human transmission.
Investigators are visiting affected sites to collect samples and tracing the food supply chain, including common suppliers. As the infections date back several weeks, the FASFC says that the inquiry is proving complex.
STEC, a variant of E. coli, can cause fever, headaches, and bloody diarrhoea. According to RTL, all of the care homes involved use the same food supplier.
© BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK
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