More than 600 people have been affected by gastroenteritis after drinking tap water in two communes in Haute-Loire, announced the prefecture and the Regional Health Agency on September 12, 2024, which is continuing its analyses to identify the germs causing the epidemic.
In total, 656 people, or 13% of the inhabitants of the communes of Séauve-sur-Semène and Saint-Didier-en-Velay, declared “symptoms characteristic of gastroenteritis (abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting and fever for some of them) most of the time with a resolution within 24 hours”indicate in a joint press release the ARS, the prefecture of Haute-Loire and Public Health France.
“The hypothesis of contamination of the water network”
“The large number of sick people whose only exposure is through consumption of distributed water” in these municipalities “points to the hypothesis of contamination of the water network”they add.
During the survey conducted by Santé publique France from September 3 to 10, 191 people (including 145 sick people) reported having noticed a problem with the quality of the water distributed (abnormal color, taste or odor) during the month of August, and most of them in the last week of August.
The rapid decrease in the number of cases from September 2 points to contamination “probably a one-off incident that occurred in the last days of August.”
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Now, water “may be consumed safely”
Analyses carried out since then show “compliant results” and water “may be consumed safely”assure the ARS and the prefecture. Analyses are underway to identify the germ(s) at the origin of this epidemic.
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However, it is “probable” that these germs can “cause secondary cases of gastroenteritis through human-to-human transmission”warns the ARS which recommends compliance with certain hygiene rules such as hand washing.
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