2024 Russian botulism outbreak | |
---|---|
Disease | Botulism |
Bacteria strain | Clostridium botulinum |
Location | Russia |
Type | Theorized to be ready-to-eat salads spread by food delivery |
Confirmed cases | 369 |
Severe cases | 76+ |
Critical cases | 30+ |
Deaths | 1 |
Territories | Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Kostroma |
In June 2024, at least 369 people in Russia were poisoned with botulism, resulting in one fatality and hundreds more hospitalized in serious condition and 38 people having to go to the intensive care unit. The Russian health ministry linked at least some of the cases of botulism to two brands of ready-to-eat salads containing canned beans, one of which was sold by food delivery service Kukhnya Na Rayone. As a result, the Rospotrebnadzor national food health agency and local health agencies issued a nation-wide recall of the salads, which Kukhnya Na Rayone participated in. [1]
As of 24 June 2024, a total of 369 people had been hospitalized with botulism symptoms, with at least 38 people placed on ventilators. [2] At least 121 people in Moscow were diagnosed with botulism after going to their practitioner for help, 55 of the affected were in serious condition, and 30 people needed to be moved to the intensive care unit. In the outlying Moscow metropolitan area, 20 people were hospitalized with twelve in serious condition. Fourteen people were diagnosed with botulism in Nizhny Novgorod with nine of them in serious condition, and fourteen people in Kazan needed to be hospitalized due to symptoms of botulism. [3]
On 24 June 2024, authorities reported that a 21-year old man who had obtained a salad in Nizhny Novgorod died after being hospitalised in Kostroma for botulism. [2]
Kukhnya Na Rayone, a Russian food delivery service based in Moscow, had one two brands of recalled salads on their menu, which contained canned beans. Shortly after early cases were announced, Kukhnya Na Rayone posted an online statement stating that it would recall the salad and would inspect other food options they hosted on their menu to avoid further botulism poisoning cases. [1]
The Moscow prosecutor's office began a criminal investigation to determine if Kukhnya Na Rayone breached consumer safety standards, temporarily shutting down operations of the company. Moscow Deputy Mayor Anastasia Rakova stated that due to prompt treatment of the symptoms with anti-toxins in hospitals, there was no longer any "threat to the lives" of the patients treated in Moscow. [4]
Three people were detained by Russian authorities: Kukhnya Na Rayone director Anton Lozin; its quality department head, Yelena Mashkova, and Savon-K director Vladimir Shin from the company that made the canned beans. [3] Authorities claimed that the food companies involved "violated multiple sanitary and epidemiological standards" including failing to submit laboratory test reports for food quality, not effectively regulating production control, and facilitating the illegal immigration of Uzbek citizens. [5]
Botulism is a rare and potentially fatal illness caused by a toxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. The disease begins with weakness, blurred vision, feeling tired, and trouble speaking. This may then be followed by weakness of the arms, chest muscles, and legs. Vomiting, swelling of the abdomen, and diarrhea may also occur. The disease does not usually affect consciousness or cause a fever.
Botulinum toxin, or botulinum neurotoxin, is a highly potent neurotoxic protein produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum and related species. It prevents the release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine from axon endings at the neuromuscular junction, thus causing flaccid paralysis. The toxin causes the disease botulism. The toxin is also used commercially for medical and cosmetic purposes. Botulinum toxin is an acetylcholine release inhibitor and a neuromuscular blocking agent.
Clostridium botulinum is a gram-positive, rod-shaped, anaerobic, spore-forming, motile bacterium with the ability to produce botulinum toxin, which is a neurotoxin.
The kidney bean is a variety of the common bean named for its resemblance to a human kidney.
Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container. Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although under specific circumstances, it can be much longer. A freeze-dried canned product, such as canned dried lentils, could last as long as 30 years in an edible state.
Foodborne illness is any illness resulting from the contamination of food by pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or parasites, as well as prions, and toxins such as aflatoxins in peanuts, poisonous mushrooms, and various species of beans that have not been boiled for at least 10 minutes.
Scombroid food poisoning, also known as simply scombroid, is a foodborne illness that typically results from eating spoiled fish. Symptoms may include flushed skin, sweating, headache, itchiness, blurred vision, abdominal cramps and diarrhea. Onset of symptoms is typically 10 to 60 minutes after eating and can last for up to two days. Rarely, breathing problems, difficulty swallowing, redness of the mouth, or an irregular heartbeat may occur.
Lupin are the yellow legume seeds of the genus Lupinus. They are traditionally eaten as a pickled snack food, primarily in the Mediterranean basin, Latin America and North Africa. The most ancient evidence of lupin is from ancient Egypt, dating back to the 22nd century BC. The bitter variety of the beans are high in alkaloids and are extremely bitter unless rinsed methodically. Low alkaloid cultivars called sweet lupins have been bred, and are increasingly planted.
Bean salad is a common salad composed of various cooked beans—typically green, wax, kidney, and/or lima beans—tossed in a sweet-sour vinaigrette. Variant ingredients include fresh raw onions, bell pepper, and/or other cooked or raw vegetables, such as chickpeas.
Strigino Airport is the international airport serving the city of Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. It is located on the outskirts of the city's Avtozavodsky District, 14 km (8.5 mi) southwest of city centre. Strigino is responsible for serving the 3,281,000 residents of the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast.
Castleberry's Food Company is an Augusta, Georgia-based canned food company founded in the 1920s by Clement Stewart Castleberry with the help of his father Clement Lamar Castleberry and closed in March 2008 by the United States Food and Drug Administration until Hanover Foods bought the rights to Castleberry's food and name.
Nizhny Novgorod was founded by Prince Yuri II of Vladimir in 4 February 1221. Citizens organized an army to liberate Moscow from the Poles in 1611, led by Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky. During the Russian Empire, in 1817 Nizhny Novgorod became the country's main trading city. In 1896, the city hosted the largest All-Russia exhibition. In the Soviet era, Nizhny Novgorod was renamed Gorky, in honor of the writer Maxim Gorky. Then it was the industrial center of the Soviet Union. During the World War II, the city sent to the front a huge amount of military equipment and ammunition. Therefore, the German air force bombed the city for 3 years. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the city was renamed back to Nizhny Novgorod. In Russia, the city became a political center and the capital of the Volga Federal District. Now the city is the center of information technology and develops tourism.
The 2018 American salmonella outbreak was an American foodborne disaster that started in Iowa, spreading to 7 other states, sickening as many as 265 people, killing one, with 94 hospitalized. Ready-to-eat chicken salad was produced by Iowa-based Triple T Specialty Meats Inc. between January 2 and February 7 for distribution in Fareway grocery stores. Salad was sold in containers of various weights at Fareway stores deli from January 4 to February 9. Total of approximately 20 630 pounds of chicken were deemed contaminated with Salmonella Typhimurium at the time of recall on February 21.
The Loch Maree Hotel botulism poisoning of 1922 was the first recorded outbreak of botulism in the United Kingdom. Eight people died, with the resulting public inquiry linking all the deaths to the hotel's potted duck paste.
Events in the year 2024 in Russia.
The 2024 United Kingdom shigatoxigenic E. coli outbreak was a Shigatoxigenic Escherichia coli (STEC) O145 outbreak that is believed to have occurred in prepackaged supermarket sandwiches, salads, wraps distributed to and sold in multiple supermarket chains across the United Kingdom such as Aldi, Asda, Co-op, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, WHSmith, and Tesco. As of 14 June 2024, 211 people were affected by E. coli symptoms, with 67 people requiring hospitalization.