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Botulism is incredibly rare in Europe (maybe a handful of cases in each country per year); in which regions is it an issue? The article mentions canned foods wh

by dom0 9y ago

Botulism is incredibly rare in Europe (maybe a handful of cases in each country per year); in which regions is it an issue? The article mentions canned foods which I imagine are not so common in countries with food scarcity.

DanBC 9y ago
The article mentions infants who are at greater risk. The article is also talking about home canned foods. Here's the CDC surveillance report on botulism for 2015: https://www.cdc.gov/nationalsurveillance/pdfs/botulism_cste_2015.pdf https://www.cdc.gov/nationalsurveillance/pdfs/botulism_cste_... > A total of 199 confirmed and 14 probable cases of botulism were reported to CDC in 2015. Among confirmed cases, infant botulism accounted for 141 (71%) cases, foodborne botulism for 39 (20%) cases, wound botulism for 15 (8%) cases, and botulism of unknown or other transmission category for 4 (2%) cases (Table 1). Among probable cases, foodborne botulism accounted for 6 (43%) cases and wound botulism for 8 (57%) cases. > The 141 cases of infant botulism were reported from 33 states and the District of Columbia. The median age of patients was 2.7 months with a range of 0 – 10 months; 70 (50%) were girls. Toxin type A accounted for 60 (43%), toxin type B accounted for 79 (56%), and toxin type Bf accounted for 2 (1%). No deaths were reported. > The 39 cases of confirmed foodborne botulism were reported from 7 states (Figure 1). The median age of patients was 59 years with a range of 9 – 92 years; 25 (64%) were women. There were 5 outbreaks (events with two or more cases) accounting for 37 confirmed cases. One outbreak was associated with home-canned potatoes in a potato salad served at a church potluck (27 cases),† one was associated with fermented seal flipper (4 cases), and one was associated with beets roasted in aluminum foil and kept at room temperature for several days then made into a soup (2 cases). In addition, there were two outbreaks of two cases each living in the same household or facility in which the foodborne source was unknown (Tab
undersuit 9y ago
There was a really bad incident in Greenland in 2013[1]. They were making kiviak, auk fermented in the carcass of a seal. I heard it was the use of eider birds instead of auk that prevented proper fermentation, but this article included that a plastic bag was used in the preparation of this batch of kiviak presumably with the auk birds in the plastic bag inside of the seal carcass. Perfect low oxygen conditions for C. Botulinum to thrive. [1] https://thefourthcontinent.com/2013/08/07/greenland-terducken-real-seal-bird-meal/ https://thefourthcontinent.com/2013/08/07/greenland-terducke...
- ceejayoz 9y ago
  > Simply put, about 400 dead birds (usually auk) are stuffed into a body of a dead seal and left under a rock to ferment for many months. Prepared this way, the seal’s fat tenderises and preserves it, which means that you can eat the entire bird raw, save the feathers. The innards turn into a liquid, and a popular way to consume it is by biting the head off and sucking out the juices inside. Holy crap. Dying of paralysis sounds like a mercy.

by dom0 9y ago

DanBC 9y ago

The article mentions infants who are at greater risk. The article is also talking about home canned foods. Here's the CDC surveillance report on botulism for 2015: https://www.cdc.gov/nationalsurveillance/pdfs/botulism_cste_2015.pdf https://www.cdc.gov/nationalsurveillance/pdfs/botulism_cste_... > A total of 199 confirmed and 14 probable cases of botulism were reported to CDC in 2015. Among confirmed cases, infant botulism accounted for 141 (71%) cases, foodborne botulism for 39 (20%) cases, wound botulism for 15 (8%) cases, and botulism of unknown or other transmission category for 4 (2%) cases (Table 1). Among probable cases, foodborne botulism accounted for 6 (43%) cases and wound botulism for 8 (57%) cases. > The 141 cases of infant botulism were reported from 33 states and the District of Columbia. The median age of patients was 2.7 months with a range of 0 – 10 months; 70 (50%) were girls. Toxin type A accounted for 60 (43%), toxin type B accounted for 79 (56%), and toxin type Bf accounted for 2 (1%). No deaths were reported. > The 39 cases of confirmed foodborne botulism were reported from 7 states (Figure 1). The median age of patients was 59 years with a range of 9 – 92 years; 25 (64%) were women. There were 5 outbreaks (events with two or more cases) accounting for 37 confirmed cases. One outbreak was associated with home-canned potatoes in a potato salad served at a church potluck (27 cases),† one was associated with fermented seal flipper (4 cases), and one was associated with beets roasted in aluminum foil and kept at room temperature for several days then made into a soup (2 cases). In addition, there were two outbreaks of two cases each living in the same household or facility in which the foodborne source was unknown (Tab

undersuit 9y ago

There was a really bad incident in Greenland in 2013[1]. They were making kiviak, auk fermented in the carcass of a seal. I heard it was the use of eider birds instead of auk that prevented proper fermentation, but this article included that a plastic bag was used in the preparation of this batch of kiviak presumably with the auk birds in the plastic bag inside of the seal carcass. Perfect low oxygen conditions for C. Botulinum to thrive. [1] https://thefourthcontinent.com/2013/08/07/greenland-terducken-real-seal-bird-meal/ https://thefourthcontinent.com/2013/08/07/greenland-terducke...

ceejayoz 9y ago
> Simply put, about 400 dead birds (usually auk) are stuffed into a body of a dead seal and left under a rock to ferment for many months. Prepared this way, the seal’s fat tenderises and preserves it, which means that you can eat the entire bird raw, save the feathers. The innards turn into a liquid, and a popular way to consume it is by biting the head off and sucking out the juices inside. Holy crap. Dying of paralysis sounds like a mercy.