Outbreak of Foodborne Botulism in an Immigrant Community: Overcoming Delayed Disease Recognition, Ambiguous Epidemiologic Links, and Cultural Barriers to Identify the Cause.

Harvey, R Reid; Cooper, Robert; Bennett, Sarah; Richardson, Matt; Duke, Deree; Stoughton, Casie; Smalligan, Roger; Gaul, Linda et al. · Clin Infect Dis · 2017

case_series · Level IV

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Abstract

We describe a botulism outbreak involving 4 Middle Eastern men complicated by delayed diagnosis, ambiguous epidemiologic links among patients, and illness onset dates inconsistent with a point-source exposure. Homemade turshi, a fermented vegetable dish, was the likely cause. Patients ate turshi at 2 locations on different days over 1 month.

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