According to a report from Rospotrebnadzor, citing the Belgian Federal Agency for Food Safety (Afsca) on May 24, salmonellosis was diagnosed in several schools and kindergartens in Flanders (northern Belgium) among children aged 4 to 11. The number of hospitalized children exceeded 60, 37 of whom had their salmonellosis diagnosis confirmed by laboratory tests.
According to the preliminary conclusion of the Belgian Health and Surveillance Agency (HCA), the infection was caused by contaminated food supplied to canteens in Flemish kindergartens and schools. Authorities consider the outbreak significant and believe the number of infected children may increase, as the source of infection and vector of spread have not yet been determined.
Operations at a facility that produces and supplies ready-to-eat food products to children's and educational institutions have been suspended. Sanitization of the facility's production lines is underway.
The Federal Tourism Agency urges tour operators offering tours to Belgium to inform their clients about the unfavorable epidemiological situation in the country. Rostourism recommends that tourists take this information into account when planning trips to Belgium.
Source: trn-news.ru