Toronto woman hospitalized overseas with botulism – CTV

Sept. 25, 2023

A Toronto woman has been hospitalized in France with a severe case of botulism after eating improperly preserved sardines at a Bordeaux wine bar.

Tchin Tchin Wine Bar, located in Bordeaux’s tourist district, served the sardines between Sept. 4 and Sept. 10, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada. At least 15 people were infected with botulism, French health authorities say, including a 32-year-old woman from Paris who succumbed to the illness.

Botulism is a rare disease caused by a toxin found in a specific type of bacteria. It is most often found in improperly canned, preserved and fermented foods. Symptoms of botulism include drooping eyelids, blurred vision, respiratory failure, paralysis and vomiting.

Toronto women Jubilee Pridham and Gabby Chartier are among those who contracted the devastating illness at the restaurant. Both face “a long road to recovery,” according to Pridham’s partner Lowell Sostomi, though Chartier received the antitoxin more quickly than Pridham.

Read more: https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/toronto-woman-hospitalized-overseas-with-botulism-1.6575637