It is a rare intoxication, but it can be very serious. Seven people were hospitalized at the University Hospital of Bordeaux for probable botulinum toxin poisoning, according to information from Sud-Ouest. These people of foreign nationality (American, Canadian and German) would have eaten in the same bar in Bordeaux (Gironde) during the last week, the Tchin Tchin Wine Bar, located near the Place de la Bourse.
This Tuesday, the Regional Health Agency (ARS) of Nouvelle-Aquitaine indicates in a statement that six of them "had various neurological or digestive symptoms" and were hospitalized to "receive a treatment of botulinum anti-toxin". "An eighth case remains under analysis," adds the ARS.
Benjamin Clouzeau, intensive care physician at the University Hospital of Bordeaux, specifies on his account X that three of the hospitalized people "justified ventilatory assistance".
This weekend, the MIR service of the @CHUBordeaux received 4 cases of Botulism (including 3 justifying ventilatory assistance) related to food poisoning.
The ARS Aquitaine is informed and the necessary measures are taken.
— benjamin Clouzeau (@clouzeau_b) September 11, 2023
These cases of botulism, a fatal disease in 5 to 10% of cases, may have been caused by the ingestion of homemade canned sardines by the restaurateur. The latter would have recognized to Sud Ouest the existence of a "strong odor" emanating from a batch of sterilized sardines. "When I opened, I had to throw some of them away," he confirms, adding: "Others looked healthy and were served to customers." The restaurateur said he was "devastated for these customers, if it turns out that they got sick at home".
Paralysis of the muscles, vomiting...
Botulism is an acute neurological condition caused by food that has not been sterilized well enough. The symptoms, whose intensity varies from person to person, are identical. The ARS evokes "early digestive signs that can be fleeting (abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea), ocular involvement (lack of accommodation, blurred vision), neurological symptoms responsible for a risk of false routes, dry mouth accompanied by a swallowing defect or even speech, and more or less strong paralysis of the muscles".
The incubation time also varies, from a few hours to a few days. People who have frequented this Bordeaux establishment are therefore called to the utmost vigilance and to consult in case of symptoms.
Samples in search of botulinum germs and toxins were carried out by the Departmental Directorate for the Protection of the Populations of the Gironde (DDPP). The results should be known within the next three days. The establishment, which remains open pending the results of the analyzes, had to "restrict from today (this Tuesday) and until further notice its activity in the service of wine and snacks that are not likely to present a botulinum risk," says the ARS.
