Twenty-two residents of the La Chêneraie nursing home, in Lherm near Toulouse, were reportedly affected by food poisoning on the evening of Sunday March 31. Five people died.
The announcement was made on Monday 1er April by the prefecture of Haute-Garonne. On the evening of Sunday March 31, twenty-two seniors residing at the “La Chêneraie” nursing home in Lherm, a town south of Toulouse, were victims of food poisoning.
After dinner, the elderly would have been seized with vomiting. They were immediately evacuated to the nearest hospitals. A new provisional report reports five deaths. Fifteen other seniors are in a state of relative emergency but are now “out of danger”, clarified to France Info the duty sub-prefect in the department, Marie-Paule Demiguel.
France Blue Occitania specifies that a command post has been set up on the site of the La Chêneraie retirement home, as well as a reception center for families in the center of Lherm. Pending the establishment of a medical-physical emergency cell, the relatives of the victims can call the standard of the Ehpad at 05 62 23 27 22.
Investigations are underway
Should we expect more casualties? “These are fragile people, elderly people, so the results will be followed, but we are talking about relative urgency”, specifies Marie-Paule Demiguel. The investigations into what happened on Sunday evening are just beginning. “What is known is that there was vomiting from people after dinner, which suggests it was food poisoning.”
The rooms of the affected residents have been sealed, as has the kitchen. “Control meals have been sequestered and kept pending the intervention of the departmental directorate for the protection of populations”, specifies the Regional Health Agency (ARS) in a statement. The first investigations began that night. They will continue today, in particular “on the basis of a food questionnaire” distributed to residents.
Opened in November 2006, the La Chêneraie nursing home accommodates 82 residents, as well as an Alzheimer unit for 17 patients. Previously owned by the Omega group, the retirement home was bought a few weeks ago by the Korian group.
What to do in case of food poisoning?
Each year, in France, more than a third of declared outbreaks of collective food poisoning (TIAC) occur in the family setting. Able to occur at any age and in several people simultaneously, food poisoning corresponds to the appearance of an infection or bodily disorder following the ingestion of a toxic substance or food infected with bacterial agents.
Generally benign, they can sometimes cause heart or kidney complications and lead to the death of the most fragile people. The most common symptoms of food poisoning are nausea and/or vomiting, abdominal cramps and pain, diarrhea and dehydration. Fever and great fatigue may also be observed.
These symptoms appear as soon as the food has been absorbed or, at the latest, within 24 to 72 hours of ingestion. In the event of food poisoning, it is recommended to consult a doctor immediately, who will carry out a complete medical examination with, if necessary, blood tests and a stool examination.
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