They presented “symptoms of poisoning”: 121 people hospitalized including 55 in serious condition in Moscow

Des vérifications sont en cours. Illustration Unsplash – Stephen Andrews

Nearly 120 people were hospitalized in Moscow after serious food poisoning with suspected botulism, Russian authorities announced on June 17, 2024.

Dietary botulism is "a serious and potentially fatal, but rare" disease, which "blocks nerve functions and can lead to respiratory and muscular paralysis", explains the World Health Organization (WHO) on its website.< /p>

This poisoning is caused by the ingestion of botulinum toxins, present in contaminated foods.

A salad in question

More than 120 people have had to consult medical services in Moscow in recent days, 30 of whom are still in intensive care, after serious food poisoning with suspected botulism, announced this Monday, June 17 municipal authorities.

Challenged by the Health Surveillance Agency (Rospotrebnadzor), salads sold by a company delivering home-cooked meals were withdrawn from sale.

"Currently, 55 people are in serious condition, including 30 in intensive care" out of a total of 121 poisoned individuals "presenting symptoms of poisoning and suspected botulism", said Anastasiya Rakova, deputy mayor of Moscow Sergei Sobyanin.

“The lives of these patients are not in danger", she said, as quoted by Russian news agencies.

Checks are underway

Ms. Rakova said that “the city of Moscow and the regional health ministry have identified the main products that could be the cause of the poisoning food".

"An epidemiological investigation is underway and the distribution of poor quality products has been suspended", she added.

The home delivery company that sells the salads in question said in a statement that it had "already withdrawn the dish from sale and begun to check the entire supply and distribution chain. production".

"We have also temporarily stopped the (mobile, editor's note) application to check all products, even those that do not pose a problem", she specified.

According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, only 82 cases of botulism were confirmed in the European Economic Area (EEA) in 2021, the last year for which data have been published.