Madrid, Jul 19 (EFE).- The botulism outbreak associated with packaged potato tortillas has so far left seven cases, of which four -two Italian citizens who consumed this product in Valladolid, one in Asturias and a fourth in Galicia- have been confirmed, and three -in Madrid, Andalusia and the Valencian Community- have a compatible clinical situation.
Both the two confirmed cases from Galicia and Asturias -two people aged 49 and 50, respectively, who ate this product between June 19 and July 5- and the probable case from Madrid -49 years old and who started symptoms on the 10th- have required treatment in the ICU, according to what the Center for Coordination of Health Emergencies and Alerts (CCAES) said in the report it issued on this outbreak this Wednesday.
The three probable cases – in addition to the one in Madrid, a 43-year-old person residing in the Valencian Community and another 27-year-old from Andalusia who consumed one of these tortillas between June 19 and July 5 – present a compatible clinical situation and an epidemiological link.
All of them, the confirmed and the probable ones, have a history of having consumed pre-cooked potato omelette, packaged and purchased in different community supermarkets “with different brands”.
ITALY CONFIRMS THE FIRST TWO CASES
The first to launch the alert was Italy, which on July 11 notified, through the European Union Early Warning and Response System (EWRS), two cases of botulism in a 23-year-old woman and her 61-year-old father who had consumed one of these foods on June 30 and began to have the first symptoms between July 1 and 2, when they were already back in their country.
Three days later, on July 14, it was Madrid and the Valencian Community that notified the National Epidemiological Surveillance Network (Renave) of two cases with symptoms compatible with botulism after eating the same food, after which the alert was immediately communicated to the rest of the autonomies.
In addition, the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (Aesan) was contacted, which is the one that has revealed the existence of the outbreak today, as responsible for analyzing traceability and coordinating the relevant investigations regarding the food product.
In this way, to date, seven cases have been reported with a history of consumption of packaged potato tortillas and, according to the information provided by the Aesan to the CCAES, in at least three of the confirmed cases and in one of the probable ones the company that makes the tortillas is the same, although at no time is the citation.
Both Ahorramas, first, and Eroski, later, have reported that they have cautiously withdrawn the tortillas supplied by the Palacios group at the request of the authorities, although this company denies that so far there is evidence that any of its products is involved in any health alert.
SUFFICIENT RESERVES OF BOTULINUM ANTITOXIN
The Ministry of Health is “closely monitoring” the epidemiological evolution of the cases associated with this outbreak and has asked the communities to alert their health services for early detection of the appearance of new cases with suspicion of botulism if they were to occur.
It is a notifiable disease in Spain and “in the face of an outbreak, the declaration from the communities is urgent.” All the samples from the affected cases are being processed at the National Center for Microbiology, which also maintains constant communication with the National Center for Epidemiology and the CCAES.
However, the CCAES emphasizes that in Spain there is a sufficient reserve of botulinum antitoxin for the treatment of the disease and that the hospital pharmacy services are in contact with the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (Aemps) to guarantee permanent availability.
Between 2015 and 2022 inclusive, Spain has detected a total of 88 cases of botulism (which gives an annual average of 11 cases), of which 20 were suspected, 20 probable and 48 confirmed.
During this 2023, in addition to the seven associated with this outbreak, 21 suspected cases have been reported, some of them pending laboratory results, as well as two cases in children under one year of age, of which one was suspected and the other confirmed.