Five dead in an Ehpad: the trail of the food poisoning privileged

Five residents of a retirement home in Haute-Garonne died in the night from Sunday to Monday. The prefecture favors the trail of food poisoning.

THE ESSENTIAL

Five people died Sunday night in a facility for the elderly (Ehpad) south of Toulouse, after a probable food poisoning. Of the 82 residents of this establishment, 22 were vomited on the evening of March 31, of which 16 had to be hospitalized in the wake. The prosecutor's office in Toulouse was seized of this case and the first investigations conducted by the Regional Health Agency (ARS) Monday morning. State services have also announced the establishment of a medico-psychological emergency cell.

The three information to remember:

- Five residents of an Ehpad in Haute-Garonne died after being vomited Sunday evening

- Monday, midday, thirteen people were still hospitalized

- Authorities favor the trail of food poisoning

Five dead: four women and a man

Of the five dead, four are women, one is 76 years old, the others are 93 to 95 years old. The fifth victim is a 93-year-old man, a source close to the investigation said. "The gendarmes came this morning at 1:20 to tell me that mom was dead," said Europe 1 Alain, whose mother Antoinette, 93, was among the 82 residents of La Chêneraie, Lherm, an establishment opened in 2006 and managed since January by the Korian group. "I'm very angry, it's unacceptable, we do not pay a lot of 3,000 euros a month to see that, it's a shame," he said indignantly, signaling his attention to filing a complaint.

Thirteen people still hospitalized. In all, 22 residents of this Ehpad were affected by this alleged food poisoning in the evening of Sunday, after dinner, said the prefecture in a statement. The first symptoms observed were "symptoms of vomiting", said the Deputy Prosecutor of the Republic. Relief went "immediately on the spot" and the departmental operational center was activated. Of the sixteen people hospitalized in the night from Sunday to Monday, three were able to return to the establishment, the remaining thirteen are still under observation.

The trail of food poisoning

Vomiting after dinner. "We suspect a food poisoning since these events took place after the meal," said the sub-prefect of Saint-Gaudens, Marie-Paule Demiguel, on BFMTV. The symptoms presented by the victims largely correspond to those of poisoning after ingestion of a contaminated food. "This intoxication seems important because people have been very ill very shortly after taking the offending foods," noted geriatrician Éric Girard at the microphone of Europe 1. "It's always pretty spectacular because in the institutions, the residents always eat the same thing and we can have poisoning in series."

Meals "prepared on the spot". Investigations by the ARS "are under way to determine the origin of the alleged food poisoning", according to the statement of the prefecture. In particular, the survey must determine whether meals were prepared internally or from outside. For its part, the Korian group assured that the meals were well prepared "on the spot".

>> READ ALSO - Food poisoning in an Ehpad: "In the elderly, it can be dramatic"

Basquaise chicken purée suspected

Basquaise chicken pureed. The problem occurred "apparently on special meals, mixed meals for people at the end of life", told reporters Chantal, the daughter of a resident couple, who was not sick. "That's what the staff told us," said the woman, rushed to the scene. This is indeed what seems to be the common point of all the victims - each time the most fragile and dependent - who ate the same thing as the other residents, namely basquaise chicken, but turned into puree to facilitate ingestion. Milk or cream is usually added to this type of preparation to bind the whole thing. It is likely during the preparation of this specific meal that contamination would have occurred. This is the preferred track by the investigators.

A questionnaire for residents. "The last periodic hygienic control check, carried out by an external consulting firm, took place on February 12, 2019. The results of this inspection were in conformity," the Korian group once again assured. The kitchens of the establishment were placed under seal and "the meal-witnesses were put in receivership and preserved pending the intervention of the Departmental Direction of the protection of the populations", according to the ARS. A food questionnaire must also be populated with residents.