Stomach flu from tap water: These French people fell ill due to contamination

Hundreds of people have fallen ill after consuming ;eacute; tap water.

The Haute-Loire prefecture and the regional health agency announced on Thursday, September 12, that 656 people had contracted gastroenteritis after drinking tap water. Two municipalities were affected: Séauve-sur-Semène and Saint-Didier-en-Velay, where 13% of their inhabitants fell ill with symptoms including abdominal pain, nausea, fever or vomiting. In early September, they paraded through pharmacies and waiting rooms of health centers, reports Le Progrès.

Although they were often only sick for 24 hours, the origin of this contamination is intriguing. “The large number of sick people whose only exposure was the consumption of distributed water points towards the hypothesis of contamination of the water network,” explains a joint press release from the ARS, the Haute-Loire prefecture and Public Health France. Both municipalities are supplied by the same water resource and the same treatment plant.

Research is still ongoing into the origin of the contamination

Public Health France conducted a survey from September 3 to 10, in which 145 sick people reported having noticed a problem in the water, whether in terms of color, taste or odor, towards the end of August. In September, the number of cases decreased and therefore points to a “probably one-off” poisoning that occurred in the last days of August”, more precisely during the weekend of August 31. 

The latest results show that the water can once again “be consumed in complete safety”. Analyses are still underway to find the germ(s) the origin of this epidemic. “Investigations are underway by state services to identify the cause of this pollution and to take all necessary measures to prevent a possible recurrence,” assures the prefecture. Patients are advised to carefully apply hygiene rules to limit any human-to-human transmission.