Following the infections with the STEC bacteria (Shiga toxin-producing E. coli) in residential care centres in Flanders, cases have now also been confirmed in a nursing home in Wallonia, La Dernière Heure reports.
The centre is reportedly located in Ottignies (in the Walloon Brabant province).
Around 20 infections have previously been recorded in six residential care centres in Flanders – in Flemish Brabant, Antwerp, and the Aalst region. A staff member has also been infected. Five people have died.
The first cases were confirmed on Tuesday in Leuven. According to the Flemish Department of Care, the deceased residents already had serious health problems, making it difficult to confirm whether the bacteria were the direct cause of their deaths or whether they accelerated their deaths.
According to the Federal Food Safety Agency (FASFC), laboratory analyses show that the bacteria are indeed the same genetic type, suggesting a common source. The initial assumption is that food is the cause.
No infections have yet been confirmed in Brussels. According to the Walloon Agency for Quality of Life (AViQ), there are suspected cases in several residential care centres in Wallonia. Infections have since been confirmed in Ottignies.
