Bacterial infections crop up in multiple Belgian care homes

Cases of STEC (Shiga Toxin-producing Escherichia Coli) bacterial infections have been cropping up in nursing homes in Flanders and now Brussels and Wallonia, with five deaths reported so far.

There have been 21 cases discovered so far in Flanders, two in Wallonia and one in Brussels (in Jette). Tests are under way to determine whether the Jette case concerns the same strain as in Flanders, where so far all of the deaths have occurred.

E. coli is a rod-shaped bacterium commonly found in the intestines of warm-blooded organisms. Some strains can spread quickly and cause severe food poisoning in humans.

Following the outbreak in Flemish care homes, a nursing home in Ottignies in Walloon Brabant notified the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC) regarding concerns of a similar situation there.

FASFC sent a team to the care home and has so far confirmed two cases. The agency remarked that it was not notified of the situation right away even though it "has been going on for 10 days already".

“In view of the situation in Flanders, we will remind all nursing homes in Wallonia of the rules in force: when there is a suspected case, it must be reported to the FASFC so that we can contain any potential outbreak,” the agency said.

The confirmed case in Brussels, detected on 19 August, is currently under investigation.

In both the Brussels and Walloon cases, further details regarding a potential connection to the Flemish outbreak are not yet known.

Compass Group, the company that supplied meals to some of the affected establishments in Flanders has issued a statement saying "health and safety is our top priority".