Situation in Rhône-Alpes

• Allergens:

In the Rhône-Alpes region, based on consolidated data from the last two weeks of monitoring, there has been a decrease in the number of visits to emergency departments and calls to SOS Médecins regarding allergic reactions. In fact, between weeks 22 and 24, the number of calls to SOS Médecins regarding allergies dropped from 101 to 39. Over the same period, the number of emergency room visits for allergies fell from 142 to 95.

• Clustered cases of Salmonella Oranienburg:

The National Reference Center for Salmonella reported to the InVS in late April 2012 the identification of an unusually high number of Salmonella Oranienburg strains. A source of contamination was traced through food investigations conducted following reports of foodborne illness in several regions of France. The source was sheep’s milk cheese from a producer in Lozère, sold primarily at markets across a large southeastern quarter of France.

As of June 19, 2012, 22 confirmed cases of foodborne illness caused by S. Oranienburg (including 10 in Rhône-Alpes) were identified as linked to the consumption of raw sheep’s milk cheese from Lozère. The producer withdrew and recalled the contaminated cheese on May 25, 2012. The number of cases linked to this incident has since decreased significantly.