Babies poisoned by salmonella by Lactalis infant milk are more numerous than reported so far and are said to be still sick.
Some of the children infected with salmonella after consuming Lactalis milk still have health problems weeks after the initial infection, members of the Association of Families Victims of Salmonella Contaminated Milk (AFVLCS) said at their conference on Friday. Press.
Many relapses
“Many children relapse, it is almost systematic”, testified Ségolène Noviant, vice-president of AFVLCS. She has reported several times that her own son, contaminated with Lactalis milk with an initial Salmonella gastroenteritis, had several relapses of diarrhea and fever and a 4e hospitalization would be scheduled for January 30. He also reportedly had bronchiolitis in January. He would not be the only one in this case, according to the association which receives many calls.
Numerous winter infections
It is certain that the period from December to January is the usual period of circulation of winter viruses of gastroenteritis and bronchiolitis. These diseases are therefore much more frequent during this period. Has the baby’s body been weakened by infection with Salmonella? It is possible, without the experts being able to confirm it. Gastroenteritis can of course modify the intestinal flora of a sick person or infant, but this flora, or intestinal microbiota, normally rebalances itself away from infection. But a recent experimental study is more worrying.
Salmonella gastroenteritis is not benign
According to this study of a model of human-type food poisoning in healthy mice and published by the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Disvorery Institute in the journal Science, repeated infections could cause chronic inflammatory bowel or colon disease. The study lasted almost eight years: each mouse received a dose of mild Salmonella-like bacteria in very small amounts and without life threatening, but inflammation of the intestine appeared and increased in all the mice over the years. the repetition of poisoning. The researchers also found that even by stopping causing these infections, the inflammation of the intestine did not go away. The damage was done. Inflammatory disease of the colon and intestine was launched.
Other sick children
The association notably warned Public Health France during a follow-up interview with the government agencies in charge of the case that other children are sick. This meeting followed the questions they had asked during a meeting with the Minister of Health, Agnès Buzin, and the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire. While acknowledging “a strong listening” to their grievances on the part of the public authorities, the association considers that “many of the responses were not satisfactory”. Public Health France must call back this week the parents of sick children to take stock of the disease and contact parents whose sick children had not been taken into account.
The association is fighting so that such a health crisis does not happen again.
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