3 more patients suspected of botulinum poisoning

SGGPO 05/20/2023 16:22

On May 20, Cho Ray Hospital said that in recent days, the unit, together with Gia Dinh People's Hospital and Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Tropical Diseases, had consulted and discovered 3 more cases of suspected botulinum poisoning.

The doctor is taking care of the patient.

All three new suspected cases are related to three cases of pediatric patients diagnosed with botulinum poisoning at Children's Hospital 2 that SGGP Online previously reported.

According to Dr. Le Quoc Hung, Head of the Department of Tropical Diseases, Cho Ray Hospital, 3 suspected cases of botulinum poisoning were scattered in 3 hospitals: Gia Dinh People's Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City Tropical Diseases Hospital and Cho Ray. After consulting with Ho Chi Minh City Tropical Diseases Hospital, the doctors decided to take the patient to Cho Ray Hospital for treatment.

Previously, on May 13, a family with 2 siblings (18 and 26 years old) and a second family (a 45-year-old male patient) both developed symptoms and had a history of exposure to suspected contaminated food on May 13. The 2 siblings ate bread with pork roll from a street vendor and the 45-year-old patient was suspected of eating a type of fish sauce that had been stored for a long time.

By May 14, all three patients had symptoms of digestive disorders, fatigue, headaches, dizziness, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. By May 15, their condition worsened and they began to have muscle weakness, double vision, and difficulty swallowing.

“With such a cluster of cases, doctors paid attention to botulinum poisoning and contacted Cho Ray Hospital to organize a consultation and suspected that these cases were botulinum poisoning. Among them, patients treated at Gia Dinh People's Hospital had PCR test samples at the Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology confirming the presence of botolinum toxin. Thus, more than 90% of the cases were confirmed to be botulinum poisoning and originated from food,” Dr. Le Quoc Hung informed.

According to Dr. Le Quoc Hung, there are currently 2 patients (18 years old and 45 years old) who need to be on ventilators, while the 26-year-old patient can move and breathe on his own, but his condition is still critical.

According to Dr. Le Quoc Hung, if botulinum poisoning is identified early and the antidote Botulism Antitoxin Heptavalen (BAT) is used, within 48 to 72 hours the patient can escape paralysis and avoid needing a ventilator.

However, in the absence of an antidote for BAT, supportive treatment is required. Because the disease is caused by botulinum toxin damaging the nervous system, leading to muscle paralysis. When the muscles are paralyzed, breathing is impossible.

On the same day, Cho Ray Hospital announced that 3 children with botulinum poisoning were given the antidote BAT and have shown initial improvements in muscle recovery. Previously, as reported by SGGP Online, Ho Chi Minh City recorded 3 cases of botulinum poisoning due to eating bread and pork sausage from a street vendor, and doctors had to work overnight to bring medicine from Quang Nam for treatment.