Three children poisoned after eating street-sold pork roll

Ho Chi Minh City Three brothers aged 10-14, showed unusual symptoms after eating pork roll, doctors at Cho Ray Hospital and Children's Hospital 2 determined it was botulinum poisoning.

The children and their aunt bought pork roll from a street vendor of unknown origin and ate it with bread on May 13. By the afternoon, all four had stomachaches, vomited, had diarrhea several times, were tired, and had body aches. The three children gradually developed muscle weakness.

A day later, the three children were admitted to Children's Hospital 2 in a state of exhaustion, drooping eyelids, weak legs, respiratory failure, had to be intubated and put on a ventilator, and had muscle strength of about 4/5. The aunt had mild poisoning so she was not hospitalized.

Doctors at Children's Hospital 2 consulted with doctors from the Department of Tropical Diseases at Cho Ray Hospital to test and determine that the patients were infected with botulinum.

Patients infected with this toxin must use the antidote as soon as possible, otherwise it will lead to muscle paralysis, respiratory failure and need to be on a ventilator for 3-6 months. Vietnam only has two vials of botulinum antidote left, which are being kept by the Northern Mountainous Region General Hospital of Quang Nam after treating patients who ate pickled fish in March. Doctors quickly coordinated the antidote to Ho Chi Minh City.

In the early morning of May 16, the medicine was transported to Ho Chi Minh City and injected into three children. One hour later, the children were all stable, showing no signs of anaphylaxis. The doctor continued to monitor and re-examine the children's health status every four hours.

A doctor examines one of three children with botulinum poisoning. Photo: Provided by the hospital — A doctor examines one of three children with botulinum poisoning. Photo: *Provided by the hospital*

Botulinum is a very strong neurotoxin, produced by anaerobic bacteria - bacteria that prefer closed environments such as canned food, or food environments that do not meet the standards to inhibit bacterial growth.

Symptoms of poisoning include abdominal pain, muscle pain, fatigue, blurred or double vision, dry mouth, difficulty speaking, difficulty swallowing, drooping eyelids, and general muscle weakness. Finally, the patient has difficulty breathing or cannot breathe due to paralysis of the respiratory muscles. These signs appear slowly or quickly depending on the amount of botulinum ingested.

Experts recommend that people should eat cooked food and drink boiled water, choose food with clear origin, quality and safety. Be careful with sealed food that has changed taste or color, canned food that is swollen or leaking.

American Italy

Source link