Three more people poisoned after eating pork sausage and fish sauce.

Ho Chi Minh City – Three men exhibited unusual symptoms after eating street-sold pork sausage and fermented fish sauce; doctors determined they had botulinum poisoning, in connection with the cluster of cases involving three children currently being treated at Children's Hospital 2.

Three people, all residents of Thu Duc City, include two brothers aged 18 and 26, and another person aged 45. All three had contact with suspected contaminated food on May 13th. The two brothers ate bread with pork sausage sold by street vendors, while the third person consumed a type of fermented fish sauce that had been left for a long time.

The next day, all three experienced symptoms of digestive disorders, fatigue, headache, dizziness, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Their condition worsened, with muscle weakness, double vision, and difficulty swallowing.

The 18-year-old patient experienced the earliest symptoms, including muscle weakness, and was admitted to the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Tropical Diseases. The 45-year-old was admitted to Gia Dinh People's Hospital on the afternoon of May 15th. The 26-year-old patient had milder symptoms and was examined at Cho Ray Hospital.

On the afternoon of May 20th, Dr. Le Quoc Hung, Head of the Department of Tropical Diseases at Cho Ray Hospital, stated that doctors from three hospitals—Cho Ray, Nhan Dan Gia Dinh, and the Tropical Diseases Hospital—held a consultation and confirmed that the three patients had botulinum poisoning. Following the consultation, the doctors decided to transfer the patient from the Tropical Diseases Hospital to Cho Ray Hospital for treatment along with her brother.

Two patients, aged 18 and 45, are currently on ventilators, experiencing muscle paralysis with muscle strength at only 1/5. The 26-year-old patient has muscle strength at 3-4/5, meaning he can move slightly and breathe on his own. However, doctors predict that he is at high risk of requiring further ventilator support in the next few days.

Patients with botulinum poisoning must be given the specific antidote, BAT. However, this drug is currently out of stock in Vietnam, and doctors can only monitor and provide supportive treatment.

The cause of the poisoning is still unclear, but doctors have determined this is a follow-up to the botulinum poisoning case involving three children, based on epidemiological factors: all three children ate pork sausage sold by street vendors on May 13th. Specifically, three siblings aged 10-14, along with their aunt, ate pork sausage purchased from an unknown vendor and subsequently developed symptoms of poisoning. The three children were severely affected and received the last two vials of antidote available in Vietnam; two are still on ventilators, while the third is showing good improvement. Their aunt's symptoms were milder, and she is being treated at home.

Botulinum is an extremely potent neurotoxin produced by anaerobic bacteria – bacteria that thrive in enclosed environments such as canned food, or food environments that do not meet the standards for inhibiting bacterial growth.

Symptoms of botulinum poisoning include abdominal pain, muscle pain, fatigue, blurred or double vision, dry mouth, difficulty speaking, difficulty swallowing, drooping eyelids, and generalized muscle weakness. Eventually, the patient experiences difficulty breathing or respiratory failure due to paralysis of the respiratory muscles. The onset of these signs varies depending on the amount of botulinum ingested.

Experts advise people to cook food thoroughly and boil water before drinking, and to choose food from reliable sources that is of good quality and safe. Be cautious with sealed foods that have changed in smell or color, and with canned goods that are bulging or open.

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