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MOROCCO
“An ordeal”: hundreds of runners infected by bacteria during a solidarity trek in Morocco
By France Inter’s digital editorial team
Published on Thursday November 2, 2023 at 9:57 p.m.
At least 200 women out of the 800 participating in the Rose Trip Trek, in the Moroccan Sahara, were infected by an epidemic of diarrhea and vomiting.
More than 800 women took part in the Trek Rose Trip at the end of October, a five-day race in the Sahara in Morocco. But this sporting trip, organized by the French travel operator Désertours, turned into a nightmare when more than 200 of them were infected by bacteria.
They trained for months or even years for this race in the middle of the desert, but it quickly turned into a nightmare. At least 200 of the more than 800 participants in the Trek Rose Trip, a five-day race in the Sahara to benefit the fight against breast cancer, were infected by bacteria and fell ill. An investigation and analyzes are underway, the French embassy in Morocco tells France Inter. The preferred route is that of an infection with E-Coli or Shigella, two bacteria which have been circulating in the region for several weeks.
The participants suffered from acute vomiting and diarrhea, and in some cases even convulsions. Many of them point the finger at the health infrastructure provided by Désertours, the operator organizing the trip.
“An ordeal of every moment”
At 41, Sarah Costanzo survived breast cancer a few years ago. Like the 800 other runners, she has been preparing for more than a year for this trek, which she explains having paid more than 1,600 euros. The proceeds must be donated to associations fighting against breast cancer. “It was really important for me to show that after an illness, we could continue to achieve feats,” she testifies on France Inter.
The start of the trek goes well, but on the third day, Sarah does not feel comfortable. During the stage, she collapses. Her two comrades call a doctor, but none is available: they are busy with other women, in more serious conditions than hers, she assures us today. So she leaves again. “Like that, I did 19 kilometers ,” Sarah remembers, “a constant ordeal . ” “We came across girls who were in terrible condition, who were vomiting, who were forced to have diarrhea in the dunes,” she testifies.
“We were in our vomit, in our droppings”
Back at the camp, things get worse: “We hope to be evacuated, but nothing is done,” Sarah continues. “I experienced 48 hours where we were in our vomit, in our droppings, it was indescribable.” According to her, the infrastructure planned by the operator is insufficient to manage the situation: the medical team on site is overwhelmed and the camp has 30 toilets for around 900 people, including staff.
At the end of these two sick days in the camp, where she expressed several times her need to go to the hospital, “I feel like I'm leaving,” Sarah testifies. “I convulsed on the ground for several hours ,” she says, her throat tight, “and I was told that my case was not a priority . ” She was finally evacuated by ambulance, a seven-hour drive to the nearest hospital, the Tafilalet clinic in Errachidia, where she was still this Thursday evening.
A collective created to be heard
In total, 200 runners are affected by the epidemic, 15 of whom were hospitalized in Morocco, operator Désertours told France Inter. According to the runners, this figure is largely minimized: “We are just starting to count the number of sick people among us, and we are already at 245,” explains Karen Lacquit, another runner victim of the bacteria. At this 28-year-old nurse from Lyon, and other runners have just joined forces with those of the Trophée Rose des Sables, a rally in the Moroccan desert organized in mid-October by Désertours and whose participants experienced the same story, at a smaller scale.
...
An investigation is underway by the Moroccan health authorities, to which the operator Désertours assures "to cooperate fully to determine the nature, the origin of the epidemic as well as the way in which it spread ". Furthermore, the company ensures that a plane has been chartered by the Mutuaide mutual fund to allow the last runners there to return to France on Friday evening.
https://www.radiofrance.fr/francein...rie-lors-d-un-trek-solidaire-au-maroc-6295935
-----------------------------------------------
An experience in the desert that turns into a nightmare for trek participants
QUEBEC/AGENCE QMI)
DIANE TREMBLAY
Thursday, November 2, 2023 4:12 p.m.
UPDATE Thursday, November 2, 2023 4:12 p.m.
Participants in the Trek Rose Trip Morocco, including at least two teams from Quebec, had a nightmarish experience, when they had to evacuate the base camp where there was a major outbreak of a bacteria causing diarrhea and vomiting.
After months of preparation, Julie Morin from Quebec and her teammates, Marie-Hélène Raymond and Élisabeth Côté, have a bitter taste from their experience with the French agency Désertours.
Julie Morin, Élisabeth Côté and Marie-Hélène Raymond managed to complete two loops before falling ill in turn.
For the Chamelles des dunes, the name of his group, the experience ended after two days of walking. They had to interrupt their journey after being overtaken by symptoms. They were still able to complete two loops totaling nearly 37 km.
According to Julie Morin, almost a quarter of the approximately 800 participants in the Rose Trip Trek have fallen ill, including a few who are still on a drip.
“What’s horrible about that is that a week before, there was the Roses des Sables rally. The participants were staying in the same bivouac as us and they experienced the same problems,” she laments.
“This means that they welcomed us into a bivouac knowing very well what had happened a few days before without corrective action being taken.”
Their nightmare began last weekend. It was from this moment that several participants began to become ill. They were gathered to take part in a desert orientation challenge reserved for women.
“We saw girls dropping like flies, lying on the ground waiting to receive care,” added the Quebecer.
Julie Morin, Élisabeth Côté and Marie-Hélène Raymond managed to complete two loops before falling ill in turn.
She and her teammates question the sanitary conditions that prevailed on the scene. The tents where food was prepared were located near the toilets and their open-air discharges.
Marie-Claude Gagné-Vaillancourt, who was part of a team from Lavaltrie, deplores that the organizers downplayed what was happening. Her two teammates fell ill, including one who had to be rescued in the desert.
“There were around 30 toilets for 800 participants, in addition to volunteers. It’s definitely not enough. In addition, our water was cut off at night,” added Ms. Vaillancourt , who returned to the country on Wednesday evening.
...
Medical analyzes are underway to determine the strain of the bacteria. Désertours officials did not respond to our interview request. In total, 27 teams from Canada took part in this challenge.
https://www.journaldequebec.com/202...au-cauchemar-pour-des-participantes-a-un-trek
-----------------------------------------------------------
Vomiting and diarrhea during a solidarity trek in Morocco, a Landes woman testifies
Dozens of participants in an all-female trek which took place in Morocco at the end of October were affected by serious forms of diarrhea. A Landes woman testifies.
By Sébastien Comet
Published on 2 Nov 23 at 4:50 p.m. updated on 2 Nov 23 at 5:30 p.m.
“We had a very complicated 48 hours.” When we speak on the phone with Élodie, 40, her voice trembles as she begins to tell her story. The mother, who lives between Rion-des-Landes and Bordeaux in Gironde, returned shaken from a stay in the Moroccan desert, near Errachidia to participate in the “Rose Trip”, with two friends.
This 100% female trek, which raises awareness of breast cancer, raises funds for the Ruban Rose association and several other structures. Arriving there on Thursday October 26 in the company of two teammates, the Landaise experienced two days of pure joy “we were amazed by the landscapes,” she says, “everything was perfect, the bivouac was very well set up” , in short, an idyllic start to the trek.
It was during the night of Saturday October 28 to Sunday October 29 that the first patients were noted. “One of my teammates got up with a fever (38.5 degrees). After passing through the doctors' tent, she wanted to do the day's stage, but after a kilometer, she felt ill . Élodie therefore triggers the emergency beacon to indicate their position to help. It was after 30 minutes that the victim was taken care of and then repatriated to the bivouac to be infused.
“They couldn’t even get to the bathroom in time”
Élodie and her second friend continue the stage and find on the way another team in poor condition. “A young woman was lying down, she had already passed out several times and her friends were trying to keep her awake.”
On arrival in the evening, Élodie finds several tents full of women in bad shape. She wants to hear from her teammate and finds her sleeping. She also saw girls who could no longer stand up and who were vomiting or who were subject to severe diarrhea "she couldn't even get to the toilet in time" she confides.
On the side of the Désertours organization, we are talking at this precise moment of an epidemic of gastroenteritis. The closing evening took place in a “bizarre” atmosphere, says Elodie. “Several girls were missing and we could see that something was wrong.” According to Élodie, more than 200 women (out of 800 people) were affected by this strange epidemic.
The medical service did what it could, but it was outnumbered by the many sick people.
The plane must turn around
The day of departure is also full of emotion. At Errachidia airport, several people felt unwell and one of the planes bringing the participants back even had to turn around on the tarmac because a woman had fallen ill. According to our information, there are still several of them hospitalized in a hospital in Errachidia and Marrakech.
Escherichia Coli singled out
Returning to France, Élodie luckily escaped this mysterious illness. Like all trekkers, she is now trying to find out what really happened. Some medical sources on site speak of a parasite, amoebiasis, and shigella (a very contagious diarrheal disease). According to a testimony that we have collected, the French embassy in Morocco speaks of the Escherichia Coli bacteria which can be found in certain foods and which is responsible, in certain cases, for sometimes severe infections.
Several other testimonies corroborate this story, including a Facebook group which has just been created to bring together these testimonies throughout France. Quebec participants also shared this story in the local media, 98.5 Montreal .
A health survey underway in Morocco
Contacted by Actu Landes , the organizer's communications department referred us to a press release. In it, he indicates “that an epidemic of symptoms similar to those of acute gastroenteritis affected participants, as well as part of the organizing team, with an unprecedented scale and virulence”. He continues by affirming “that around fifteen people were hospitalized on Moroccan soil to fight against dehydration”.
Various measures have been deployed with the coordinating doctor and our medical teams on site to preserve the health of the participants, and ensure care for the most affected people in Moroccan hospitals. The isolation due to a trek in the desert made the situation all the more painful and anxiety-provoking for the participants.
...
A health investigation is currently underway and the organization “wishes to fully cooperate to determine the nature, origin of the epidemic and how it spread”. The press release also specifies that the entire Rose Trip team “would once again like to express its support for the participants affected, and unable to complete the trek”.
...
https://actu.fr/faits-divers/vomiss...au-maroc-une-landaise-temoigne_60285313.html
MOROCCO
“An ordeal”: hundreds of runners infected by bacteria during a solidarity trek in Morocco
By France Inter’s digital editorial team
Published on Thursday November 2, 2023 at 9:57 p.m.
At least 200 women out of the 800 participating in the Rose Trip Trek, in the Moroccan Sahara, were infected by an epidemic of diarrhea and vomiting.
More than 800 women took part in the Trek Rose Trip at the end of October, a five-day race in the Sahara in Morocco. But this sporting trip, organized by the French travel operator Désertours, turned into a nightmare when more than 200 of them were infected by bacteria.
They trained for months or even years for this race in the middle of the desert, but it quickly turned into a nightmare. At least 200 of the more than 800 participants in the Trek Rose Trip, a five-day race in the Sahara to benefit the fight against breast cancer, were infected by bacteria and fell ill. An investigation and analyzes are underway, the French embassy in Morocco tells France Inter. The preferred route is that of an infection with E-Coli or Shigella, two bacteria which have been circulating in the region for several weeks.
The participants suffered from acute vomiting and diarrhea, and in some cases even convulsions. Many of them point the finger at the health infrastructure provided by Désertours, the operator organizing the trip.
“An ordeal of every moment”
At 41, Sarah Costanzo survived breast cancer a few years ago. Like the 800 other runners, she has been preparing for more than a year for this trek, which she explains having paid more than 1,600 euros. The proceeds must be donated to associations fighting against breast cancer. “It was really important for me to show that after an illness, we could continue to achieve feats,” she testifies on France Inter.
The start of the trek goes well, but on the third day, Sarah does not feel comfortable. During the stage, she collapses. Her two comrades call a doctor, but none is available: they are busy with other women, in more serious conditions than hers, she assures us today. So she leaves again. “Like that, I did 19 kilometers ,” Sarah remembers, “a constant ordeal . ” “We came across girls who were in terrible condition, who were vomiting, who were forced to have diarrhea in the dunes,” she testifies.
“We were in our vomit, in our droppings”
Back at the camp, things get worse: “We hope to be evacuated, but nothing is done,” Sarah continues. “I experienced 48 hours where we were in our vomit, in our droppings, it was indescribable.” According to her, the infrastructure planned by the operator is insufficient to manage the situation: the medical team on site is overwhelmed and the camp has 30 toilets for around 900 people, including staff.
At the end of these two sick days in the camp, where she expressed several times her need to go to the hospital, “I feel like I'm leaving,” Sarah testifies. “I convulsed on the ground for several hours ,” she says, her throat tight, “and I was told that my case was not a priority . ” She was finally evacuated by ambulance, a seven-hour drive to the nearest hospital, the Tafilalet clinic in Errachidia, where she was still this Thursday evening.
A collective created to be heard
In total, 200 runners are affected by the epidemic, 15 of whom were hospitalized in Morocco, operator Désertours told France Inter. According to the runners, this figure is largely minimized: “We are just starting to count the number of sick people among us, and we are already at 245,” explains Karen Lacquit, another runner victim of the bacteria. At this 28-year-old nurse from Lyon, and other runners have just joined forces with those of the Trophée Rose des Sables, a rally in the Moroccan desert organized in mid-October by Désertours and whose participants experienced the same story, at a smaller scale.
...
An investigation is underway by the Moroccan health authorities, to which the operator Désertours assures "to cooperate fully to determine the nature, the origin of the epidemic as well as the way in which it spread ". Furthermore, the company ensures that a plane has been chartered by the Mutuaide mutual fund to allow the last runners there to return to France on Friday evening.
https://www.radiofrance.fr/francein...rie-lors-d-un-trek-solidaire-au-maroc-6295935
-----------------------------------------------
An experience in the desert that turns into a nightmare for trek participants
QUEBEC/AGENCE QMI)
DIANE TREMBLAY
Thursday, November 2, 2023 4:12 p.m.
UPDATE Thursday, November 2, 2023 4:12 p.m.
Participants in the Trek Rose Trip Morocco, including at least two teams from Quebec, had a nightmarish experience, when they had to evacuate the base camp where there was a major outbreak of a bacteria causing diarrhea and vomiting.
After months of preparation, Julie Morin from Quebec and her teammates, Marie-Hélène Raymond and Élisabeth Côté, have a bitter taste from their experience with the French agency Désertours.
Julie Morin, Élisabeth Côté and Marie-Hélène Raymond managed to complete two loops before falling ill in turn.
For the Chamelles des dunes, the name of his group, the experience ended after two days of walking. They had to interrupt their journey after being overtaken by symptoms. They were still able to complete two loops totaling nearly 37 km.
According to Julie Morin, almost a quarter of the approximately 800 participants in the Rose Trip Trek have fallen ill, including a few who are still on a drip.
“What’s horrible about that is that a week before, there was the Roses des Sables rally. The participants were staying in the same bivouac as us and they experienced the same problems,” she laments.
“This means that they welcomed us into a bivouac knowing very well what had happened a few days before without corrective action being taken.”
Their nightmare began last weekend. It was from this moment that several participants began to become ill. They were gathered to take part in a desert orientation challenge reserved for women.
“We saw girls dropping like flies, lying on the ground waiting to receive care,” added the Quebecer.
Julie Morin, Élisabeth Côté and Marie-Hélène Raymond managed to complete two loops before falling ill in turn.
She and her teammates question the sanitary conditions that prevailed on the scene. The tents where food was prepared were located near the toilets and their open-air discharges.
Marie-Claude Gagné-Vaillancourt, who was part of a team from Lavaltrie, deplores that the organizers downplayed what was happening. Her two teammates fell ill, including one who had to be rescued in the desert.
“There were around 30 toilets for 800 participants, in addition to volunteers. It’s definitely not enough. In addition, our water was cut off at night,” added Ms. Vaillancourt , who returned to the country on Wednesday evening.
...
Medical analyzes are underway to determine the strain of the bacteria. Désertours officials did not respond to our interview request. In total, 27 teams from Canada took part in this challenge.
https://www.journaldequebec.com/202...au-cauchemar-pour-des-participantes-a-un-trek
-----------------------------------------------------------
Vomiting and diarrhea during a solidarity trek in Morocco, a Landes woman testifies
Dozens of participants in an all-female trek which took place in Morocco at the end of October were affected by serious forms of diarrhea. A Landes woman testifies.
By Sébastien Comet
Published on 2 Nov 23 at 4:50 p.m. updated on 2 Nov 23 at 5:30 p.m.
“We had a very complicated 48 hours.” When we speak on the phone with Élodie, 40, her voice trembles as she begins to tell her story. The mother, who lives between Rion-des-Landes and Bordeaux in Gironde, returned shaken from a stay in the Moroccan desert, near Errachidia to participate in the “Rose Trip”, with two friends.
This 100% female trek, which raises awareness of breast cancer, raises funds for the Ruban Rose association and several other structures. Arriving there on Thursday October 26 in the company of two teammates, the Landaise experienced two days of pure joy “we were amazed by the landscapes,” she says, “everything was perfect, the bivouac was very well set up” , in short, an idyllic start to the trek.
It was during the night of Saturday October 28 to Sunday October 29 that the first patients were noted. “One of my teammates got up with a fever (38.5 degrees). After passing through the doctors' tent, she wanted to do the day's stage, but after a kilometer, she felt ill . Élodie therefore triggers the emergency beacon to indicate their position to help. It was after 30 minutes that the victim was taken care of and then repatriated to the bivouac to be infused.
“They couldn’t even get to the bathroom in time”
Élodie and her second friend continue the stage and find on the way another team in poor condition. “A young woman was lying down, she had already passed out several times and her friends were trying to keep her awake.”
On arrival in the evening, Élodie finds several tents full of women in bad shape. She wants to hear from her teammate and finds her sleeping. She also saw girls who could no longer stand up and who were vomiting or who were subject to severe diarrhea "she couldn't even get to the toilet in time" she confides.
On the side of the Désertours organization, we are talking at this precise moment of an epidemic of gastroenteritis. The closing evening took place in a “bizarre” atmosphere, says Elodie. “Several girls were missing and we could see that something was wrong.” According to Élodie, more than 200 women (out of 800 people) were affected by this strange epidemic.
The medical service did what it could, but it was outnumbered by the many sick people.
The plane must turn around
The day of departure is also full of emotion. At Errachidia airport, several people felt unwell and one of the planes bringing the participants back even had to turn around on the tarmac because a woman had fallen ill. According to our information, there are still several of them hospitalized in a hospital in Errachidia and Marrakech.
Escherichia Coli singled out
Returning to France, Élodie luckily escaped this mysterious illness. Like all trekkers, she is now trying to find out what really happened. Some medical sources on site speak of a parasite, amoebiasis, and shigella (a very contagious diarrheal disease). According to a testimony that we have collected, the French embassy in Morocco speaks of the Escherichia Coli bacteria which can be found in certain foods and which is responsible, in certain cases, for sometimes severe infections.
Several other testimonies corroborate this story, including a Facebook group which has just been created to bring together these testimonies throughout France. Quebec participants also shared this story in the local media, 98.5 Montreal .
A health survey underway in Morocco
Contacted by Actu Landes , the organizer's communications department referred us to a press release. In it, he indicates “that an epidemic of symptoms similar to those of acute gastroenteritis affected participants, as well as part of the organizing team, with an unprecedented scale and virulence”. He continues by affirming “that around fifteen people were hospitalized on Moroccan soil to fight against dehydration”.
Various measures have been deployed with the coordinating doctor and our medical teams on site to preserve the health of the participants, and ensure care for the most affected people in Moroccan hospitals. The isolation due to a trek in the desert made the situation all the more painful and anxiety-provoking for the participants.
...
A health investigation is currently underway and the organization “wishes to fully cooperate to determine the nature, origin of the epidemic and how it spread”. The press release also specifies that the entire Rose Trip team “would once again like to express its support for the participants affected, and unable to complete the trek”.
...
https://actu.fr/faits-divers/vomiss...au-maroc-une-landaise-temoigne_60285313.html