Recent changes in the official botulism websites of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the California Department of Public Health caught our attention.
Both are attributing an increase in the number of wound botulism cases to an "epidemic" of Mexican black tar heroin abuse in California. CDC puts it this way:
Fish from Canada being sold in Florida and there’s a little problem with them called BOTULISM. That pretty well sums it up, but here are the details from our friendly U.S. Food & Drug Administration:
(FDA) is warning retailers and food service operators not to offer for sale ungutted, salt-cured alewives (also called gaspereaux fish)
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta have confirmed the conclusion of the in-country Minister of Health: Uganda has an outbreak of botulism to deal with.
According to The New Vision, which claims to be Uganda’s top website, the health ministry has issued a public warning about the botulism outbreak.
Myself, along with Charles Murray, Esq., represented Carl Ours, a man with the tragically bad luck to be one of the eight cases of botulism associated with contaminated Castleberry’s Austex Hot Dog Chili Sauce. As a result of the botulism, Carl spent almost a month in the hospital, with sixteen days of it on a
Two Mendocino County, CA cases of wound botulism are being blamed on Mexican black tar heroin use. Wound botulism is caused by the same bacteria that causes foodborne and infant botulism.
According to The Willits News:
The two residents infected with the rare but extremely virulent disease are breathing on mechanical ventilators and were transferred
Oregon sees just two such cases a year. The whole country records just 100. We are talking about infant botulism.
One victim is being treated now at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland.
The month-old infant is beginning to recover. Its mother, Jennifer Perez says tiny Aracelis Mora went limp the day after they passed a
We’ve been passing along information on how to safely can at home, and here comes a story on why you really do have to be careful. The Mansfield News Journal reported this week that:
A Crestline man and his grandson remain in the hospital after coming down with food-bourne botulism last weekend.
Nortbert Reinhard is
of The Morning Call ponders the federal government decision to allow irradiation of some fresh produce, but points out one problem with the policy. Go here for the complete column. Darragh writes:
Three years ago, the FDA sent a letter to lettuce growers, packers, processors and shippers noting its ”serious concern” about 19
Michigan’s New Era Canning Co., closed for the past 7 months, is going to resume production. It’s been granted a temporary permit that will allow it to begin sales, bring back employees and resume processing.
The Muskegon Chronicle reports:
Rick Ray, the company’s president and chief executive officer, is optimistic that his family owned business
BOTULISM FUN FACTS:
1. Botulism is the single most acutely toxic substance (natural or manmade) known to science, with a median lethal dose of about 1 ng/kg, meaning that a few hundred grams could theoretically kill every human on earth. (For perspective, the rat poison strychnine, which is also considered to be highly toxic, has