Foodborne botulism has been linked to two deaths in an Argentinian province.
The Ministry of Public Health in Misiones reported the two fatalities and at least four other cases occurred this past week in the village of Andresito.
The four ill people, including three adults and one child, are being treated in the intensive care unit of a local hospital. According to media reports, a third person, a child, has since died and up to 10 people have been affected.
Agency officials said that products suspected to be linked to the food poisoning have been seized. Local media reported homemade sausages are believed to be the source of infection.
The Ukraine Ministry of Health reported 88 outbreaks of botulism in 2021, as a result of which 98 people became ill, including three children. Ten cases were fatal.
79 patients were given anti-botulinum serum. In 2021, cases of botulism were registered in all regions of Ukraine, except Zakarpattia, Luhansk and Mykolaiv regions. The highest number of cases was registered in Volyn oblast – 9, eight cases were recorded in Zhytomyr, Lviv and Chernihiv oblasts and seven cases were reported in Cherkasy oblast. The main causes of botulism food poisoning were the consumption of dried / salted / dried freshwater fish of home cooking or of unknown origin, which was purchased on the natural markets (30 cases – 30.6%), canned home-cooked meat (30 cases – 30.6%) .