2023-11-02 15:20:00
The organizers were pleased on Tuesday with an event which seemed to have gone wonderfully, according to them. ©Facebook Trek Rose
In short, on the front side, a problem-free edition. And magical memories that will remain forever engraved in the minds of the participants. Behind the scenes, on the other hand, the picture would be much less rosy than the one that the organizers want to display on social networks. And if many participants will remain marked by this edition, it is not really for the magical side described by the organizers but rather because of an epidemic of shigellosis which affected a large part of the bivouac.
A resident of Tournai, Coralie was one of the victims. Arriving on Thursday the 26th at the bivouac, she fell ill on the evening of the first stage. “I had stomach aches and diarrhea,” confides the Tournaisienne. Then it was the turn of one of my teammates (Editor’s note: the Trek takes place in teams of three). We first thought it was heatstroke. But then we learned that many other participants were affected by what the organizers described as an epidemic of gastroenteritis. Saturday evening, they reported around forty girls affected.”
“Nearly 300 girls out of 800 were affected”, indicates a Belgian doctor, husband of a sick participant
Much more, in reality, estimates Serge Messen, husband of a participant from Liège, herself struck by violent stomach aches, suffering from high fever, vomiting and severe diarrhea. “My wife fell ill on Monday,” he says. As I arrived in Morocco on Sunday, I went to the bivouac. The organizers did everything to deny me access. But I managed to get back. And I would say that almost 300 girls out of 800 were affected.”
More or less strongly. “While some just had stomach aches, others had bloody diarrhea, were dehydrated, and remained bedridden in makeshift tents. Some were unconscious, unable to communicate. The doctors there said everything was under control but that was not the case. They were totally overwhelmed by the scale of the epidemic. The sick vomited and defecated on themselves. It was everywhere. It was apocalyptic.”
“My wife had vagal discomfort, bordering on cardiac arrest, and we had to resuscitate her. Today, she is better but it has not gone far.”
When we talked to him regarding a gastro or tourist epidemic, Serge directly dismissed this hypothesis. And he knows what he’s talking regarding: Serge is a doctor, head of department in a large hospital center in Liège. “I directly asked that my wife be put on a drip but we only gave her a simple Dafalgan and antibiotics. She had vagal discomfort, bordering on cardiac arrest, and we had to resuscitate her. Today she is better but it hasn’t gone far.”
For at least twenty others, their condition will have required hospitalization. This is particularly the case for Mélissa. “I had the first symptoms late Saturday morning in Marrakech. My health deteriorated very quickly. I was taken care of by the medical PC at the hotel. And at the end of the evening around midnight, they might not treat me properly so they transferred me to the private university hospital in Marrakech. The blood tests were not good (very high infection rate), low blood pressure barely 8, and a lot of fever. Vomiting and lots of diarrhea. Let’s not talk regarding the excruciating abdominal pain. I was infused from the hotel until my release on Tuesday followingnoon. The girls fell one following the other. They were clearly left to their own devices.”
Some of the participants had to be infused and hospitalized. ©Facebook / Collective Trek Rose Trip 2023 & Trophée Roses Des Sables Epidemic
On Tuesday, we learned that a participant had shigellosis, an ultra-contagious diarrheal disease caused by a bacteria that kills nearly 200,000 people each year around the world. “There is no doubt that many sick participants – perhaps not all – were affected by this disease,” believes Serge.
According to the participants, who testify en masse regarding a group Facebook denouncing the facts, the organization made a real “denial” regarding the epidemic. “They spent more energy wanting to look good on social networks than treating the sick,” complains Serge. This is what is most shocking: that an epidemic affects the bivouac, I can still understand it. But for the organizers to be aggressive towards the participants, to minimize the facts, to try to suppress them on social networks and not to do everything possible to treat the sick is unacceptable. And the sick had to return home on their own.”
“All the elements were in fact there for an epidemic to develop here”
According to Coralie, the epidemic is the organization’s fault. “Nothing has been respected in terms of food safety and health safety,” she complains. The toilets were indeed under canvas but the wastewater was not stored in tanks installed for the occasion: it was dumped just behind the toilets, in open-air trenches which were, by all accounts, 10 meters from the toilets. pseudo kitchens. Used toilet paper was thrown into plastic bags left open at the entrance. And in the end, some girls, for fear of being contaminated in turn, went to the toilets outside, behind the tents. For the meal, the dishes were served on unrefrigerated tables and I’m not even sure if the water was treated. All the elements were in fact there for an epidemic to develop here.”
Waste from the toilets was dumped… in trenches located a few meters from the tents housing the kitchens! ©Facebook / Collective Trek Rose Trip 2023 & Trophée Roses Des Sables Epidemic
A Married at First Sight candidate affected by the epidemic
On social networks, Laure Larroy, participant in the fifth edition of the French show Mariés au Premier Regard, herself posted an Instagram story in which we observe her bedridden and infused, among around fifteen others participants. “I’m not starting today. Fever once more last night, and still stomach pains, I’m disgusted but it’s more reasonable,” she posted on Instagram.
Candidate for the 5th edition of Married at First Regard in France, Laure Larroy was affected by the epidemic during the Trek Rose. She had to be infused. ©Instagram / Laurelarroyoff
For the dozens of participants who are denouncing the facts today, the pill goes down all the more badly as they had to pay nearly 1,800 euros per person to experience a dream adventure which ultimately turned into a nightmare for many of them. they. “We weren’t asking to stay in a five-star hotel. On the contrary, staying in a tent was part of the adventure, concludes Coralie. But we dared to hope that the most basic hygiene conditions would be respected. And let us be safe. But clearly, this is far from being the case. We were put in danger by the organization.”
A collective has now been formed to collect all the testimonies of victims of the epidemic and possibly file a complaint for endangering the lives of others.
Contacted by La DH, the organization has, for the moment, not yet responded to requests for reaction.
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