On February 14, the Food Safety Department (Ministry of Health) sent an official letter to the Da Nang City Department of Health regarding the handling of a suspected food poisoning case due to botulinum toxin, after recording a patient hospitalized with severe symptoms.
According to initial information, the patient has symptoms of blurred vision, dilated pupils on both sides that do not respond to light, epigastric pain, nausea after eating a meal with fermented fish dish in hamlet 3, Phuoc Chanh commune, Da Nang city. Currently, the patient is being actively treated at Quang Nam Northern mountainous Regional General Hospital.
Faced with the above developments, the Food Safety Department requested the Da Nang City Department of Health to urgently implement many measures to ensure safety for people. The focus is to direct treatment facilities to focus resources on rescuing patients, not to affect their lives; and at the same time be ready to connect inter-hospital consultations when necessary to receive timely professional support.
Local health sectors are also required to continue monitoring the health of those who eat at the same meal, promptly detect suspicious signs of poisoning for emergency treatment immediately. In parallel, promote propaganda on food safety knowledge and measures to prevent poisoning caused by Clostridium botulinum bacteria.
The Food Safety Department notes that people need to eat cooked food and drink cooked water; prioritize using newly processed food. Do not arbitrarily pack food tightly and store it for a long time in unsafe conditions. For fermented, packaged or covered traditionally foods such as pickled vegetables, bamboo shoots, pickled eggplants..., it is necessary to ensure sufficient sourness and saltiness; when the food is no longer sour, it should not be eaten.
In addition to communication work, strengthening inspection and supervision of food safety at small-scale production, business, processing and street food establishments is also emphasized to prevent risks.
The Food Safety Department requested the Da Nang City Department of Health to strictly implement the directions of the Government and the Ministry of Health on food poisoning prevention, and at the same time report the results of the cause investigation and update the developments of the case according to regulations.
Experts warn that botulinum is an extremely potent toxin produced by bacteria in an anaerobic environment, which can cause muscle paralysis and respiratory failure if not detected and treated promptly. People with abnormal signs after eating and drinking should go to medical facilities immediately.
