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.
FoodWorld 