The Paris public health unit of the Paris prosecutor's office took over the investigation on Wednesday into the poisonings in the Aisne region, which notably caused the death of a teenage girl, Paris public prosecutor Laure Beccuau announced in a press release on Thursday.
"In view of the number of victims, (...) and the technical nature of the expected investigations, the Saint-Quentin public prosecutor's office has relinquished jurisdiction on June 25, 2025, to the public health division of the Paris public prosecutor's office," announced Ms. Beccuau.
Two new cases of poisoning linked to the Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria have been recorded, the Aisne prefecture announced Thursday evening, bringing the number of people infected to date to 25.
These are "two children who have not reported hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a serious complication affecting the kidneys, and are being monitored at home, the prefecture stated in a press release.
Since the first cases appeared in the Saint-Quentin metropolitan area on June 12, 24 children and one elderly person have been affected. A teenage girl, Elise, died on June 16.
Ten people remain hospitalized, the prefecture said.
Investigations to find the origin of the contamination continue.
Suspecting a foodborne illness linked to meat, authorities have since last week closed four halal butcher shops and two supermarket meat departments in the Saint-Quentin area as a precaution.
Samples taken from these sales locations are still being examined.
On June 21, the Saint-Quentin public prosecutor's office opened a preliminary investigation into the charges of involuntary manslaughter, involuntary injury, endangerment and deception aggravated by endangering human health.
The investigations were entrusted to Oclaesp (Central Office for Combating Environmental and Public Health Attacks), BNEVP (National Brigade for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Investigations) and the Saint-Quentin police station.
"The same investigative services remain involved. The technical investigations aim to determine whether the children were contaminated by the same bacteria, and when," Ms. Beccuau said.
Meat from businesses that had been closed as a precaution was served at several events between June 20 and 22: a football tournament in Saint-Quentin (Oise), a mini-basketball party in Gauchy (Aisne), and a school fair in Étaves-et-Bocquiaux (Aisne). "No cases of severe food poisoning among participants in these events have been reported so far," the prefecture stated.
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