Copenhagen, (EFE).- The European Center for Disease Control (ECDC) increased this Tuesday to a total of 67 cases of iatrogenic botulism detected on the continent and related to trips to Turkey to undergo weight-loss operations.
The ECDC indicates that 12 cases have been detected in Germany, 1 in Austria and Switzerland and 53 in Turkey and points out that, of the 63 for which information is available, 60 are related to a private hospital in Istanbul and another three to another, also private, in Izmir.
The center asks people who have traveled to either of these two cities to undergo such treatments between February 22 and March 1 to seek medical assistance, especially if they detect symptoms such as weakness, difficulty breathing and/or swallow.
Also, remember that the symptoms can be mild or severe and that several cases have required hospital care. Among those who needed it, several have had to be admitted to the ICU and have received treatment with antitoxin against botulism.
ECDC advises against treatments in Turkey
The ECDC insists that citizens of the European space should avoid going for weight-loss operations treatments in Turkey because there is a “significant risk of developing botulism. At this time it is not clear if this event is due to a therapeutic or procedural matter in the affected hospitals or if there is a problem with the administered substance.”
Research conducted in Turkey has revealed that the substances were used in such treatments, but are not approved for anti-obesity interventions by intragastric injection.
“Therefore, the concerned departments in both hospitals have suspended their activities and investigations have been opened against the affected parties,” the ECDC added.
WHO alarm
The World Health Organization (WHO) had already sent an alert in August 2022 for falsified batches of these toxins detected in Jordan, Turkey, Kuwait, the United Kingdom and Poland.
“It is not known, however, if these batches have been used for treatment in the cases registered so far,” the ECDC explained this week.
In Germany, all cases are in middle-aged adults with mild to severe symptoms, leading to hospitalizations, some in intensive care.