A mystery disease has killed a 77-year-old man and caused three other people to become seriously ill at a care home in the Limburg province, Belgian media report.
On Friday morning, Ivo Bervoets – who had been living at the Corsala care home in the city of Beringen for the past six years – suddenly began to sweat and tremble violently. He died very soon after. At almost exactly the same time, three other care home residents started to exhibit similar symptoms.
One of the latter residents was later taken to hospital but has since shown signs of recovery. The other two are still being monitored by care home employees but have been described as "very alert".
According to Corsala director Sara Teals, nothing has yet been ruled out as a potential cause. "We are exploring different explanations and are not ruling out any possibility," she said. "We are fully cooperating with the police. We hope to have more clarity soon. In the meantime, we continue to have full confidence in our employees."
The Limburg Public Prosecutor's Office similarly refused to rule out malicious intent. "The procedure mandates that we investigate suspicious deaths," said prosecutor Katrien Truyen. "Malice is not immediately assumed, but we want to exclude and investigate everything. Officially, all possibilities are still open."
Truyen also noted that an autopsy on Monday will likely reveal more information. "Then we know more and we can also check whether there is a link with the other residents who became unwell. It could also be a bacterium or a virus."
'I cannot mourn the death'
Speaking to Het Belang van Limburg, Ilse, Ivo's 50-year-old daughter, recalled the harrowing moment when she found out that her father – whom she described as "a good grandfather and a fantastic man" – had passed away.
"My brother Koen was called on Friday morning with the message that dad had died," she recounted. "No one had told us that he was doing badly. We were in shock and drove to the residential care centre as soon as possible."
"When we arrived, dad's body was still warm. Unfortunately, we didn't get to say goodbye to him. Even worse, my dad's room had immediately been turned into a kind of research lab. The police, the Prosecutor's Office and the medical staff: they were all looking for what concerned them. It is so surreal to see your father come to his end this way. I cannot believe it."
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Ilse added that she was prohibited from touching her father as it "was not in the interest of the investigation." She also noted that she is struggling to rule out the possibility that Ivo may have been murdered.
"I cannot mourn the death. The question that has been haunting me since Friday morning is: was my dad killed? We have already heard several stories. But what really happened? That's what we want to know."
Ilse did, however, express her hope that her father might now be reunited with his late wife, who died four years ago. "Now, hopefully, he can go to rest with mum. We're going to miss him."
