More than 130 people have fallen ill in France following an outbreak of Yersinia infections linked to a brand of raw milk goat cheese.
In an outbreak of Yersinia enterocolitica biotype 2, serotype O:9, 133 cases have been reported in France, and one case each in Belgium, Norway and Luxembourg.
100 grams of Etoile de Provence Banon AOP have been recalled in more than 20 countries, including Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and the US, with a deadline of August 2, 2024.
In France, the quarantine period for infected people runs from January 27 to June 28. The ages of those infected range from 3 to 85, with a median age of 49, and 76 of them are women.
The Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region is the worst affected with 57 cases, but cases have been confirmed in every region of mainland France.
Among 57 patients interviewed, the latest onset date was June 10. Some cases had a history of ingestion of unusually large amounts of a certain type of raw milk goat cheese.
ECDC Involvement
Although notification of enteric yersiniosis is not mandatory in France, some medical laboratories routinely send isolates, clinical data, and demographic data to the French Yersinia National Reference Laboratory.
In 2022, France recorded 1,558 cases, one suspected and three confirmed Yersinia outbreaks.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said it was monitoring the situation and was in contact with member states and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
“Given the distribution of affected products in several EU and EEA countries, there is a high risk of infection with yersinosis among consumers who purchased the affected products before the regulatory measures came into force, or who have been exposed in other circumstances. New cases may arise in the countries concerned and previous cases may be identified retrospectively,” the ECDC said.
“The reported cases may represent only a small proportion of the total cases due to the lack of referenced isolates and routine sequencing. The risk of further human infections associated with this event is mitigated due to the control measures implemented in each country.”
Symptoms of yersiniosis often appear 3 to 7 days after infection. Symptoms include fever, abdominal cramps, watery or bloody diarrhea, headache, and vomiting. Yersiniosis is usually self-limited, but symptoms may last from 1 to 3 days up to 3 weeks.
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