U.S. researchers confirm canned sardines spread deadly botulism during Rugby World Club held in France

They visited Bordeaux, France, last month for the Rugby World Cup and reported  eating home-canned sardines in the same bar and restaurant

The University of Minnesota  Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) reports that 15 cases of botulism poisoning resulted, including one death.

The deadly outbreak was confirmed by the open-access platform known as  Eurosurveillance.

CIDRAP’s summary of the botulism outbreak follows:

The report presented the clinical case descriptions of eight patients seen at the Bordeaux University Hospital, where the first patient treated in the outbreak was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) on Sept. 6. 

That patient required mechanical ventilation and experienced several severe symptoms, including eye drooping, impaired swallowing, and oculomotor palsy — in which the affected eye does not track correctly.

“Because of the neurological symptoms, the patient was initially treated for Guillain–Barré syndrome, but botulis