Two butchers closed after girl dies in French food poisoning outbreak

A 12-year-old girl has died and seven other children have been taken to hospital in an outbreak of severe food poisoning centred around a northern French town.

Symptoms began to emerge on 12 June in and around Saint-Quentin, south of Lille, with the children rushed to hospital over the following days.

The cause of the outbreak that has affected children aged 1-12 is yet to be confirmed, but two local butchers have been closed as a precaution as several children are thought to have eaten meat from the shops.

The girl died on Monday from a rare condition called haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) linked to acute kidney failure; the most common cause of that is E.coli bacteria.

The latest case was reported on Wednesday evening, the regional health authority in Hauts-de-France said.

All eight children were admitted to hospital with severe digestive symptoms, such as bloody diarrhoea, and five of them had developed HUS, the authority said.

"We have a total of 10 confirmed cases, including one child admitted to hospital in Reims. So, there's still concern," local mayor Frédérique Macarez told France Info radio.

Five children are believed to have eaten meat or meat-based products from one butcher in the town, and another child from the second butcher, several days before they came down with symptoms the local prefecture said in a statement on Friday.

The mayor said that they did not have 100% certainty that the poisoning had come from the two butchers, but some of the families involved had occasionally bought meat there.

Samples from both shops have been sent for analysis over the weekend.

In a message posted on Facebook, one of the two butchers whose doors had been shut, La Direction, said the entire team expressed its condolences to the victim's family and relatives: "It's with deep sadness that we have learned of recent events at Saint-Quentin."

Parents have been told not to eat merguez or other sausages and lamb bought from the two shops in early June.

One town butcher said all his meat, marinades and spices had been taken away to be checked on Thursday.

Authorities had earlier ruled out any issues with local tap water, which "can be used for drinking and for all everyday purposes".

The infectious disease (HUS) is most often caused by E.coli food poisoning, authorities said.

They have also been warned to be vigilant and ensure strict hygiene at home, with authorities advising regular hand-washing, washing of fruit and vegetables, thoroughly cooking meat and separating raw and cooked food.