Convulsions, artificial coma… a 7-year-old girl almost died after eating raw milk cheese

La petite fille de 7 ans reste hospitalisée à Lyon (photo d'illustration). Piron Guillaume – UNSPLASH

Élise, 7 years old, was contaminated by the E.coli bacteria by eating, in December 2023, a piece of raw milk morbier. She is still hospitalized.

On the 23rd of 2023, little Elise, 7 years old, bit into a piece of raw milk morbier. On Christmas Eve, the little girl, who lives in the Rhône, complained of stomach aches to her parents, reporting in particular Le Progrès and BFM. 

They take her to the on-call medical center. "They confirmed the diagnosis of gastro because they couldn't see anything else with what they had available and given the symptoms she had", his father tells our colleagues on the continuous news channel.

Contaminée en mangeant du morbier au lait cru, une fillette de 7 ans toujours hospitalisée
👉 Contaminée par la bactérie E.coli, ses reins sont depuis dysfonctionnels #Lyon https://t.co/HATcHRXROf

— Le Progrès Lyon (@leprogreslyon) February 8, 2024

E. coli bacteria detected in stools

Two days later, Elise's condition deteriorated sharply. His parents, worried, ruled out gastroenteritis. After a suspicion of peritonitis, the E.coli bacteria was finally detected in the child's stool.

At this time, the government site Rappel Conso warned of the danger of several cheeses, possibly contaminated by E. coli bacteria. This same bacteria was at the origin of the Buitoni pizza scandal which led to the death of two children in 2022. 

Intubated, induced coma

Suppressed by convulsions, the little girl is placed in an artificial coma and intubated. At that moment, his vital prognosis is in jeopardy.

On December 31, the little girl was awakened. Since then, she has still not recovered the functions of her kidneys. His kidney system, which is very damaged, according to BFM, could require a transplant. The little girl remains hospitalized in Lyon.