Several people are suspected to have developed botulism after eating pesto in France.
The Centre-Val-de-Loire Regional Health Agency received reports of five probable cases of botulism following a family meal.
Sick people ate wild garlic pesto from the “O Ptits Oignons” brand. The five cases are currently hospitalized in an intensive care unit.
The California Department of Public Health is warning consumers not to eat multiple varieties of Shamshad Food’s jarred food items because they were produced outside of the department’s Cannery Program oversight, making them susceptible to contamination with Clostridium botulinum.
Ingestion of botulism toxin from improperly processed jarred and canned foods may lead to quick serious illness and death.
The following varieties of Shemshad Food jarred products should not be consumed:
The food products were sold at grocery stores in southern California including Woodland Hills Market in Woodland Hills, Q Market in Van Nuys, and Wholesome Choice Market in Irvine. Consumers that observe the product being offered for sale are encouraged to report the activity to the health department toll free complaint line at 800-495-3232.
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Yesterday in Eurosurveillance, investigators report on an outbreak of 15 cases of botulism poisoning, including 1 death, last month during the Rugby World Cup held in Bordeaux, France.
The authors present the clinical case descriptions of eight patient seen at the Bordeaux University Hospital, where the first patient treated in the outbreak was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) on September 6. That patient required mechanical ventilation and experienced a number of severe symptoms, including eye drooping, impaired swallowing, and oculomotor palsy—in which the affected eye does not track correctly.
“Because of the neurological symptoms, the patient was initially treated for Guillain–Barré syndrome, but botulism was also suspected,” the authors staid. Over the next 4 days, two more patients arrived at the hospital with similar neuro-ophthalmic symptoms and required ICU care.
Norway has reported two cases that are part of a botulism outbreak in Spain, bringing the number of people affected to 11.
There is a link between patients and different packaged brands of Spanish omelet (tortilla de patata), which is made with potatoes and eggs, purchased in various supermarkets in different regions.
The Norwegian cases stayed in Barcelona between July 10 and 23.
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Botulism is a human and animal neurological disease caused by the action of bacterial neurotoxins (botulinum toxins) produced by bacteria from the genus Clostridium. This disease induces flaccid paralysis that can result in respiratory paralysis and heart failure. Due to its serious potential impact on public health, botulism is a closely monitored notifiable disease in France through a case-based passive surveillance system. In humans, this disease is rare, with an average of 10 outbreaks reported each year, mainly due to the consumption of contaminated foods. Type B and to a lesser extend type A are responsible for the majority of cases of foodborne botulism. Each year, an average of 30 outbreaks are recorded on poultry farms, about 20 cases in wild birds and about 10 outbreaks in cattle, involving a large number of animals. Mosaic forms C/D and D/C in birds and cattle, respectively, are the predominant types in animals in France. Types C and D have also been observed to a lesser extent in animals. With the exception of botulinum toxin E, which was exceptionally detected throughout the period in wild birds, the types of botulism found in animal outbreaks are different from those identified in human outbreaks over the last ten years in France and no human botulism outbreaks investigated have been linked to animal botulism. In line with the One Health concept, we present the first integrative approach to the routine surveillance of botulism in humans and animals in France.
Posted in botulism, Clostridium, Clostridium botulinum, Decontamination Microbial, food bourne outbreak, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Poisoning, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, outbreak
Campylobacter, Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria infections all increased in Ireland in 2022, according to the latest figures.
Data from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC), which is part of the Health Service Executive (HSE), shows the number of reports for the four pathogens rose compared to 2021.
Notifications of Salmonellosis doubled and the number of E. coli infections passed 1,000.
Full reports on these four pathogens and for outbreaks have not been published since 2018 because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic response and limited capacity at HPSC.
Campylobacter infections went up from 3,147 in 2021 to 3,619 in 2022.
Salmonella cases doubled from 173 in 2021 to 342 in 2022 but this is similar to 2018 and 2019 levels.
More than 1,000 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) notifications were noted. Up from 962 in 2021.
A total of 18 listeriosis cases were recorded, up from 15 in 2021. Fourteen were men and four were women. Fifteen cases were in the over-65 age group while two were less than 1 to 4 years old.
Figures also show three cases of Bacillus cereus foodborne infection or intoxication compared to none in 2021.
The published data, which covers 2018 to 2022, reveals two cases of botulism, although it is unclear if food was the cause. There was also one report of brucellosis in 2022. All other years reported no notifications of these diseases.
There were 17 yersiniosis cases in 2022 compared to 18 in 2021. Cryptosporidiosis declined from 845 in 2021 to 566 in 2022.
Shigellosis went up from 70 in 2021 to 157 in 2022. Norovirus also increased from 439 in 2021 to 990 in 2022.
Posted in botulism, Brucellosis, Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium, E.coli, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Listeria, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, Norovirus, Salmonella, Shigella, Yersinia
Italian researchers have looked at botulism trends over two decades including a large outbreak in 2020.
Italy has one of the highest botulism rates in Europe with one factor being a strong home canning tradition in the country. From 1986 to September 2022, 406 botulism incidents involving 599 people were laboratory confirmed.
The study described the surveillance system as well as information on botulism cases reported by local health services and those from hospital discharge forms from 2001 to 2020.
Botulism is a rare but life-threatening condition caused by toxins produced by Clostridium botulinum bacteria. In foodborne botulism, symptoms generally begin 18 to 36 hours after eating a contaminated food. However, they can start as soon as six hours after or as long as 10 days later.
Symptoms can include general weakness, dizziness, double-vision, and trouble speaking or swallowing. It paralyzes respiratory muscles so most patients must be placed on life support. Difficulty breathing, weakness of other muscles, abdominal distention and constipation may also occur. People experiencing these problems should seek immediate medical attention.
Posted in botulism, Clostridium, Clostridium botulinum, Decontamination Microbial, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Poisoning, Food Poisoning Death, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, Poisoning
Since the beginning of the week, six people with a previous diagnosis of botulism have been hospitalized in different regions of Ukraine – Volyn, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Rivne, Kherson and Kyiv. Among the causes of the disease, experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention call the use of fried and dried river fish of their own cooking or unknown production, home canned food.
We remind you that botulism is a food poisoning that can lead to serious consequences. In summer, when the air temperature rises, you should pay attention to the conditions of storage and cooking. Therefore, to protect against botulism, you should avoid the following products if you have doubts about their quality and storage / transportation conditions:
Symptoms of botulism:
Symptoms of botulism often appear gradually, without sharp rises in temperature, so there is an illusion of frivolity. Later there is a visual impairment – one of the first signs of botulism. At the same time there is thirst, dryness of the mucous membranes, swallowing disorders, may change the tone of voice. Patients complain of a feeling of “lump” in the throat, pain when swallowing, sore throat.
Neurological symptoms last for several days and are accompanied by a general toxic syndrome – patients complain of severe headache, dizziness, insomnia, general weakness, fever. In severe cases, patients are concerned about the feeling of shortness of breath. Respiratory failure develops, which is the cause of death in botulism.
At the slightest suspicion of botulism, see a doctor immediately!
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Public health officials in Washington state are urging people to practice safe procedures for home canning after a man died during the weekend.
The man, from Grays Harbor County, was between 55 and 65 years old, according to a news release from the public health department.
The department has not yet released any other information about the man, except to say it is believed he died from botulism poisoning. Testing is ongoing to confirm the cause of death.
“Grays Harbor County Environmental Health assisted the property owner with the safe disposal of around 170 pint-sized jars of home-canned food and canning jars per CDC guidelines,” according to the county’s news release.
Botulism is odorless and cannot be seen or tasted; however, even a small taste of food containing the toxin can be deadly, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease control and Prevention, the county release warns.
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The Ukraine Ministry of Health reported 88 outbreaks of botulism in 2021, as a result of which 98 people became ill, including three children. Ten cases were fatal.
79 patients were given anti-botulinum serum.
This compares to 2020 when Ukraine reported 65 cases and four deaths.
In 2021, cases of botulism were registered in all regions of Ukraine, except Zakarpattia, Luhansk and Mykolaiv regions. The highest number of cases was registered in Volyn oblast – 9, eight cases were recorded in Zhytomyr, Lviv and Chernihiv oblasts and seven cases were reported in Cherkasy oblast.
The main causes of botulism food poisoning were the consumption of dried / salted / dried freshwater fish of home cooking or of unknown origin, which was purchased on the natural markets (30 cases – 30.6%), canned home-cooked meat (30 cases – 30.6%) .
Food borne botulism is a severe intoxication caused by eating the preformed toxin present in contaminated food.
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