Three patients in Ho Chi Minh City were hospitalized with symptoms and progression of botulinum poisoning. Two of them required ventilators. However, hospitals do not have specific antidotes for the patients.
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| Man suspected of botulinum poisoning at Cho Ray Hospital. (Photo: BVCC) |
On May 20, Dr. Le Quoc Hung, Head of the Department of Tropical Diseases, Cho Ray Hospital (HCMC), said that the hospital is treating two brothers suspected of being infected with botulinum toxin. The 26-year-old brother was hospitalized first, while the 18-year-old brother was transferred from the HCMC Hospital for Tropical Diseases.
At the same time, another 45-year-old man suspected of being infected with botulinum is also being treated at Gia Dinh People's Hospital.
“This cluster of suspected botulinum poisoning cases is scattered across three hospitals in the city, following the recent cluster of three children being poisoned. After consultation, the hospitals agreed to diagnose the patients with suspected botulinum poisoning,” said Dr. Hung.
According to the information, the patients all live in Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City. On May 13, two brothers ate sandwiches with pork roll bought from a street vendor. The 45-year-old man ate a type of fish sauce that had been stored for a long time.
Symptoms began one day after exposure to the suspected contaminated food source. All three people had gastrointestinal symptoms such as abdominal pain, fatigue, dizziness, and diarrhea.
By May 15, the symptoms worsened, with muscle weakness, double vision, and difficulty swallowing. The 18-year-old man had the earliest changes and was transferred to the Hospital for Tropical Diseases. The 45-year-old patient was admitted to Gia Dinh People's Hospital. The 26-year-old brother had milder symptoms and was admitted to Cho Ray Hospital.
Currently, the 18-year-old and 45-year-old patients are on ventilators, have muscle paralysis, and have muscle strength of 1/5. The 26-year-old patient can move and breathe on his own, with strength of 3/5-4/5. However, he is likely to progress to the point of needing a ventilator in the coming days.
According to Dr. Hung, after culturing the stool sample of the 45-year-old patient and performing a PCR test, the results showed the presence of botulinum toxin type A. "Thus, more than 90% of the possibility of these cases of botulinum poisoning originated from food," Dr. Hung shared.
Notably, at this time, Ho Chi Minh City and the whole country have run out of botulinum toxin antidote. The last two vials of BAT antidote were used for three children at Children's Hospital 2 on May 16. Previously, Cho Ray Hospital coordinated this antidote, which costs 8,000 USD/vial, to Quang Nam to save patients poisoned after eating pickled carp.
According to Dr. Hung, the specific antidote BAT is a very unfortunate problem for patients and a difficult problem for treating doctors. If BAT is used early, patients with botulinum poisoning can escape from paralysis within 48 to 72 hours, without needing a ventilator.
In the absence of an antidote, doctors can only provide supportive treatment with nutrition and mechanical ventilation. Experience shows that the treatment time for patients with botulinum poisoning without an antidote will last for months, with many complications occurring such as infection, malnutrition due to prolonged mechanical ventilation, paralysis, etc.
Previously, Dr. Nguyen Tri Thuc, Director of Cho Ray Hospital, proposed the need for a national rare medicine storage center, managed by the Ministry of Health. According to Mr. Thuc, up to now, emergency care and treatment for patients poisoned by rare drugs is still individual.
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