Botulism outbreak tied to sardines served in Bordeaux leaves 1 person dead and several hospitalized
Regional health officials in France say a 32-year-old woman is dead and a dozen people have been hospitalized after an apparent botulism outbreak
PARIS — Matt Jackson was riding an electric bike through Bordeaux wine country when he started feeling strange. Nine days later, he's on a breathing machine in a French intensive care unit, unable to open his eyes, communicating only via notes on a whiteboard —- and infected with botulism.
Jackson was among the first of a dozen people who ate preserved sardines in a Bordeaux wine bar last week to be hospitalized with what French authorities believe is the rare and potentially fatal illness.
One, a 32-year-old woman from the Paris region, has died.
Officials issued an appeal around France and beyond to find others who might have eaten the suspicious sardines and might be at risk. Among those sickened have been visitors from the U.S., Ireland, Canada, Germany and Spain, according to the regional health authority ARS.
Jackson and his partner Kristy Benner, on vacation from Hermosa Beach, California, stopped by the Tchin Tchin Wine Bar on Sept. 4, and sampled wine with small plates of sardines and charcuterie.
The next morning, they took a wine-tasting trip to nearby Saint-Emilion. «We’re on e-bikes riding to the vineyards, and around 10 a.m. Matt just said he didn’t feel very well,'' she said.
At first thought she thought Jackson was dehydrated, or having a stroke.
“His abilities were going down quickly,» she told The Associated Press on Thursday from Bordeaux. As he spoke, «it was very hard to understand. And his mouth was so unbelievably dry, to the point where he couldn’t swallow water.”
After two days at his side in the hospital, she started feeling parched herself, and
Read more on abcnews.go.com
