Two butcher shops in northern France have temporarily closed after a child died from severe foodborne illness, local authorities said on June 20. French Health Minister Yannick Neuder confirmed on June 22 that Escherichia coli was behind the outbreak.

Eight children have come down with severe foodborne illness since June 12 after consuming meat products from the two businesses in the northern city of Saint-Quentin. Six of them contracted hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), including a 12-year-old girl who died. HUS is a severe complication of E. coli infections that can an lead to kidney failure, permanent health problems, and even death.

A total of 17 children were sickened in the span of about a week, but only eight of those children are in the hospital.

Authorities at press time said it was not possible to say definitively that consumption of products from the two establishments in question was the source of the contamination.

Authorities have deployed more than 30 investigators in the region to trace the chain of contamination. Determining the source of the contamination has been complicated by the fact that the butchers do not have a common meat supplier.