Six French children hospitalized with E. coli, unrelated to German outbreak

Six French children hospitalized with E. coli, unrelated to German outbreak

2011-06-16 19:58:44 GMT+7 (ICT)

PARIS (BNO NEWS) -- Six young children have been hospitalized in northern France after falling ill as a result of E. coli infections, which are believed to be unrelated to the deadly outbreak in Germany.

Radio France Internationale (RFI) reported on Thursday that the children were hospitalized in Lille, a city near the border with Belgium, after they began suffering from bloody diarrhea on Wednesday. The victims are aged between 20 months and eight years and are from different towns in the Pas de Calais region.

According to the report, the children had all eaten defrosted hamburgers which were made by French company SEB and were being sold by German discount chain Lidl. The supermarket quickly removed the "Steak Country" burgers from its shelves after SEB recalled them.

While the meat reportedly came from Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands, French health officials have said the E. coli outbreak is a rare strain and is not believed to be linked to an outbreak of E. coli in Germany, where contaminated spouts have so far claimed at least 37 lives and sickened more than 3,000 others.

In addition to the six children who were hospitalized in northern France, one child was also found to be infected with E. coli but did not require hospitalization. The six children who remained in hospital on Thursday are expected to recover.

In August 1996, an outbreak of E. coli serotype O157:H7 in Japan sickened at least 9,578 people, most of them children. A total of 11 people died as a result of the outbreak, which was likely caused by radish sprouts.

And in May 2000, seven people were killed and more than 2,300 people were sickened after E. coli strain O157 polluted drinking water in the Canadian town of Walkerton.

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