A lady has died and several other others have fallen seriously sick with botulism after consuming sardines at a preferred wine bar in France’s southwestern city of Bordeaux.

The country’s health authorities said the affected people had all dined on the Tchin Tchin Wine Bar, an organic wine bar in central Bordeaux that’s frequented by foreign tourists, last week.

The lady, a Paris resident, died after she returned home from a visit to Bordeaux. The lady and her partner were admitted to a hospital within the region. Eight others were admitted to a Bordeaux hospital, with nearly all of them requiring respiratory support. One person was receiving intensive care at a hospital in Spain.

French health authorities confirmed that botulism, a particularly rare, yet potentially life-threatening disease, was the cause. They added that it spread from the wine bar’s homemade, oil-based sardine preserves.

Though the identities of the victims weren’t revealed, authorities said most of them were from other countries, including the USA, Germany, Canada and Ireland, and that they were within the 30 to 40 age range.

Officials also warned more cases may emerge. Individuals who dined on the wine bar between Sept. 4 and 10 should immediately seek medical attention in the event that they experience any symptoms.

France records a mean of 20 to 30 cases of botulism per 12 months.

What’s botulism?

It’s a comparatively rare, potentially fatal illness attributable to a toxin that attacks the body’s nerves. Botulism can result in difficulty respiratory, muscle paralysis and even death. Food-borne botulism is often attributable to ingestion of potent neurotoxins, referred to as botulinum toxins, that are formed in contaminated foods. There isn’t any person-to-person transmission of botulism.

Symptoms of botulism

Based on the World Health Organization, botulism causes weakness of the muscles that control the eyes, face, mouth and throat. Early symptoms of the rare disease include fatigue, weakness and vertigo, followed by blurred vision, dryness within the mouth and difficulty in swallowing or speaking.

Treatment options

Doctors often administer a drug called antitoxin, which prevents the toxins from causing further harm. Nonetheless, it doesn’t aid in healing the damage that is already done to an individual affected by botulism. Early administration of antitoxin is effective in reducing mortality rates. The patient could have to be hospitalized for a couple of weeks to several months based on the severity of the symptoms.

If one experiences respiratory problems, it could even result in respiratory failure if the toxin paralyzes the muscles involved in respiratory. In such cases, the patient would require ventilator support until they’ll breathe on their very own.

Patients with wound botulism may sometimes require surgery and antibiotics to remove the source of the bacteria.

Published by Medicaldaily.com