Around ten people were victims of botulism after eating canned sardines in a Bordeaux restaurant. One person died, seven are hospitalized in intensive care.
[Mise à jour le 13 septembre 2023 à 13h07] Meals shared in a Bordeaux restaurant between September 4 and 10 turned into a nightmare. After eating in the restaurant “TCHIN TCHIN WINE BAR”, bar very popular with Anglo-Saxon customers in Bordeaux, several customers have been victims of foodborne botulism. L’food in question ? Of the sardines in jar carried out by the restorer (artisanal manufacturing), specifies the General Directorate of Health (DGS) in a letter dated September 12. Food botulism is a very serious food poisoning which paralyzes. It is caused by a toxin produced by bacteria Clostridium botulinum. It is this toxin that makes you sick.
A quadriplegic person
According to health authorities, 10 cases of poisoning are recorded to date : one person died ; 8 people are hospitalized (Bordeaux and Ile-de-France) including 7 in intensive care or in the continuous monitoring unit. One would be “tetraplegic” according to statements by a doctor to TF1. Of the analyzes are in progress by the National Botulism Reference Center for biological confirmation of botulism. Investigations and food samples are currently being analyzed.
Other cases are not excluded in the coming days
The incubation time for foodborne botulism can range from a few hours to a few days. Symptoms include, to varying degrees:
- early digestive signs that may be fleeting: abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea
- eye damage (failure to accommodate, blurred or double vision),
- a dry mouth accompanied by a deficiency in swallowing or even speech,
- or neurological symptoms (wrong paths, paralysis more or less strong muscles).
- There is usually no fever.
“There occurrence of other casesin the coming days, in connection with this establishment is not not excluded” warns the DGS. The treatment of botulism is essentially symptomatic and requires, in severe forms, intensive respiratory care with assisted ventilation. L’administration of botulinum antitoxin in the hours or first days after the onset of symptoms can shorten the hospitalization time. There the vast majority of patients treated quickly recover without after-effectsbut the duration of treatment and convalescence can sometimes last several months. Antibiotics have no action on botulinum toxin.