USA – 2 California sisters in ICU with botulism amid outbreak traced to home-canned Nopales

NBC News

A family party near Fresno, California, resulted in 10 people being treated for botulism, a rare but serious illness caused by bacteria that affects the nervous system, public officials said Friday.

The culprit in the outbreak? Home-canned nopales, or cactus pads.

Two sisters are currently recovering in intensive care, a spokesperson for the Fresno County Department of Public Health told NBC News. One sister underwent a tracheostomy, a procedure to create a breathing tube in the neck, due to respiratory complications caused by the disease.

The eight other hospitalized individuals have been released, and there have been no new reported cases since.

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