Toronto woman hospitalized with botulism
CTV
A Toronto woman has been hospitalized in France with a severe case of botulism after eating improperly preserved sardines at a Bordeaux wine bar.
A Toronto woman has been hospitalized in France with a severe case of botulism after eating improperly preserved sardines at a Bordeaux wine bar.
Tchin Tchin Wine Bar, located in Bordeaux's tourist district, served the sardines between Sept. 4 and Sept. 10, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada. At least 15 people were infected with botulism, French health authorities say, including a 32-year-old woman from Paris who succumbed to the illness.
Botulism is a rare disease caused by a toxin found in a specific type of bacteria. It is most often found in improperly canned, preserved and fermented foods. Symptoms of botulism include drooping eyelids, blurred vision, respiratory failure, paralysis and vomiting.
Toronto women Jubilee Pridham and Gabby Chartier are among those who contracted the devastating illness at the restaurant. Both face “a long road to recovery,” according to Pridham’s partner Lowell Sostomi, though Chartier received the antitoxin more quickly than Pridham.
“We’re seeing improvements,” Sostomi said on Pridham's condition during an interview with CP24. “But it’s small steps every day.”
Pridham, Chartier and Chartier’s mother attended the restaurant on Sept. 9, the first day of a “much-anticipated” trip to France and Spain, according to the GoFundMe set up to offset Pridham’s mounting medical bills and expenses.
“She called me right after she ate at the restaurant, and she told me, ‘we just had the stinkiest fish dish, and you’d have hated it,’” said Sostomi. He says Pridham’s passion is food and wine, which made the trip to Europe all the more exciting for her.
