An E. coli outbreak in Belgium with more than 70 cases and nine deaths has been linked to ground beef.
The Federal Agency for Food Safety (FASFC) said there were no samples of the contaminated meat batch, so the source could not be confirmed with absolute certainty.
Food consumption in the affected nursing homes was mapped and various food samples were analysed. Epidemiological data and tracing efforts indicated that raw ground beef was the likely source of contamination.
In August, infections caused by the same type of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) O157 were detected in 11 nursing homes in Belgium.
The Brussels prosecutor's office has launched a judicial investigation into STEC infections that occurred in nursing homes.
The same batch of beef was sent to nursing homes
In 2024, Belgium reported four STEC outbreaks with 14 patients.
The outbreak was investigated by the Flemish Ministry of Health (Department Sorg), FASFC (also known as AFSCA and FAVV), Sciensano (Belgian national public health institute), Vivalis and Aviq.
Vivalis helps implement health policies and provide care to individuals in Brussels. Aviq is an agency dedicated to health, quality and safety in the Wallonia region of Belgium.
A study of what affected residents ate before they became ill found that the most likely cause of the infections was raw ground beef. A traceability investigation found that all of the affected care homes were serving beef from the same batch.
More than 70 food samples from food scraps and supply chain products were analyzed. However, since there were no more samples from the affected batch of meat, the source of contamination could not be confirmed by laboratory analysis.
“Raw food can be contaminated with pathogenic bacteria. We recommend that vulnerable consumers such as the elderly, young children, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems avoid eating these foods or cook them carefully. They are at increased risk of serious complications from foodborne illness,” said Aline Van den Broek, FASFC spokesperson.
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