One dead, 23 others sick from suspected botulism at Ohio church - Reuters

[Path_Finder]

One dead, 23 others sick from suspected botulism at Ohio church

(Reuters) - A woman has died and 23 others were sickened by a suspected botulism outbreak after a potluck lunch at an Ohio church, health officials said on Wednesday.

Fifty to 60 people attended the Sunday lunch at the Cross Pointe Free Will Baptist Church in Lancaster, about 30 miles southeast of Columbus, Ohio, said Jennifer Valentine, a spokeswoman for the Fairfield Department of Health. Most began getting sick on Tuesday, Valentine said.

A 54-year-old woman died on Tuesday, she said.

Botulism is a rare but serious paralytic illness caused by a nerve toxin produced by a type of bacteria and is sometimes linked to contaminated food.

reuters.com/article/2015/04/22/us-usa-ohio-botulism-idUSKBN0ND08720150422

 

[Mintaka]

Yeah, they still don’t know what it was that people ate that was contaminated. But they’re analyzing away.

Be careful out there, folks!

 

[7_Sorrows]

That is one thing that scares me about pot lucks at churches, etc.
You don’t know how sanitary the cook is or their kitchen! Was it a home canned item or a canned item? Hope they find the source. I feel bad for the 54 year old woman who died. Praying the others recover.

 

[MaryT777]

How incredibly sad to have a death from a pot luck at Church and such an illness outbreak. May she rest in peace and the others recover quickly.

Mary.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

That is one thing that scares me about pot lucks at churches, etc.You don’t know how sanitary the cook is or their kitchen! Was it a home canned item or a canned item?
…/quote]

It’s not limited to home prepared foods:

Blue Bell Listeria Outbreak Has Been Going on For Five Years, CDC Says

 

[Path_Finder]

Quote from the article in the first post:

Botulism can result from home-canned foods of low acidic content, like beans, which have not been canned properly. In the United States, an average of 145 cases are reported each year, and 15 percent are food-borne, according to the CDC.

Okay, so an average of 145 a year.

And this is virtually, the first time I have ever heard of it happening at a Church dinner in my life. A potluck dinner if that needs to be said.

So, these events are relatively rare I would suppose. It is still noteworthy.

 

[7_Sorrows]

Quote from the article in the first post:

Okay, so an average of 145 a year.

And this is virtually, the first time I have ever heard of it happening at a Church dinner in my life. A potluck dinner if that needs to be said.

So, these events are relatively rare I would suppose. It is still noteworthy.

I have heard of it happening before. It is rare, but nonetheless, when so many people are sickened at once it is noteworthy.