Six people fell ill between July 7 and 14, in the Cholet sector indicates the Regional Health Agency (ARS) in Pays-de-la-Loire. According to the agency, which is expressed by a press release, the victims present the symptoms of botulism and were intoxicated after eating carrots put in a artisanal way.
The six people presented “severe symptoms” of botulism a few days apart after consuming the same food in Maine-et-Loire. According to ARS, they have all been hospitalized but their state of health is not, for the moment, not specified.
“None of these foods have been marketed”
The regional agency informs to conduct investigations with patients and their loved ones to try to understand how so many people have been intoxicated in such a limited area and such a short time.
The first elements harvested tend towards “the consumption of carrots put in jar in an artisanal way” but the ARS specifies that “research continues to know how many people within the family and friendly sphere have also consumed these foods”. She also adds that “none of these foods has been marketed”.
A rare disease but with high mortality
According to the Pasteur Institute, botulism is “a serious neurological condition caused by a very powerful toxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum”. There are different types of botulism: food botulism, infantile botulism or botulism contracted via an injury. If botulism is rare, its mortality remains high when the treatment is not early.
Find our health file here
The symptoms are as follows: nausea, diarrhea, blurred vision, drought of the mouth, difficulty in swallowing and concern for speech, digestive and neurological disorders.
The ARS specifies the bacteria at the origin of botulism “only develop in the absence of oxygen, which is why they can find themselves in vacuum and canned foods, or dry cowards”.
