Botulism is a rare but dangerous illness caused by bacteria that affects the nervous system. Ten people were treated for it at a family party near Fresno, California, on Friday.
The person who started the outbreak? Homemade nopales, which are cactus pads.
A representative for the Fresno County Department of Public Health told NBC News that two sisters are currently getting better in intensive care. Due to breathing problems caused by the disease, one sister had a tracheostomy, a surgery that made a breathing tube in the neck.
The eight other people who were admitted have been released, and there have been no new cases since then.
“This is the first time we’ve had a foodborne botulism outbreak,” Norma Sanchez, a disease expert with the Fresno County Department of Public Health, told the press on Tuesday. Sanchez has worked for the county for 26 years.
Sanchez said that the first two people who got sick after the party were sent home from the hospital because they had dizziness. When the family’s trash was looked at and partygoers were questioned as part of a full investigation, it was only then that the botulism was linked to the home-canned nopales.
Sanchez found out from the cook that she had canned the nopales herself in May. Since only family members and home-cooked food were involved, health officials did not need to take any nopales off store shelves.
During the same news conference, Dr. Rais Vohra, the interim health officer, warned people in the community about the dangers of home-canned foods, pointing out that this is something that many families do to keep traditions alive.
The CDC says that the bacteria Clostridium botulinum causes botulism and can happen when home-canned, preserved, or fermented foods are not done correctly. Some of the signs are trouble breathing, weak muscles, and blurry vision.
Dr. Vohra stressed that even though botulism is a hazardous disease that can kill, most people who get it can fully heal.
