PitCo health officials say botulism case is isolated, no risk to public

Original source (on modern site) | Article images: [1]

The recent case of a foreign exchange worker who contracted foodborne botulism is believed to be isolated and there is not a risk to the public, Pitkin County Public Health officials said in a statement issued Friday. 

The county said specifics surrounding the case "can't be shared in order to protect the privacy of the case." Foodborne botulism "is very rare," said the county's statement, noting the affliction is caused when a toxin is released by bacteria growing in "low-oxygen, wet environments such as damaged cans or sealed food containers." The statement added the public health officials "believe we have identified the exposure source and have determined that there is no risk to the public at this time."

On Feb. 17, a Brazilian exchange student working in Aspen was hospitalized with symptoms of paralysis, dizziness, double vision and a shortness of breath.

Those symptoms are in line with Pitkin County Public Health's description of botulism: "a neurotoxin that causes paralysis, is always severe and requires immediate medical attention. Initial symptoms can include stomach upset, difficulty speaking or swallowing, slurred speech or double vision."

Within 24 hours, Claudia de Albuquerque Celada, 23, was airlifted from Aspen Valley Hospital to a Denver hospital, where she was diagnosed with foodborne botulism on March 1.

Her sister, Luísa Albuquerque, posted on social media this week that the Denver hospital is paying for her flight home to Brazil via air ambulance. She also requires a breathing machine.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's website, botulism is a "notifiable disease" in the United States, meaning that physicians must "promptly notify the state health department of suspected cases, and laboratories must notify the state health department of all confirmed cases."

The state health departments are then to report confirmed cases to the CDC.

"Within 24 hrs of being notified of the case, Pitkin County Public Health worked in partnership with CDPHE (Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment) to quickly identify if any other cases presented locally and eliminated the possibility of an outbreak," said the county's statement. "Once it was determined that no risk to the public was present, Pitkin County Public Health worked in partnership with the CDPHE and the CDC to investigate potential exposure sources and distribute information to identified case contacts."

The CDPHE did not immediately respond to email questions sent Friday from the Aspen Daily News. 

According to the CDC, health departments in 2019 reported 215 cases of botulism to the CDC, 201 which were laboratory confirmed and the other 14 provable. 

Reported cases of lab-confirmed foodborne botulism amounted to 21, or 10% of the total cases in 2019, resulting in three deaths. Colorado accounted for four cases of foodborne botulism, which were reported in September 2019 — all from commercial pre-packaged roasted potatoes, according to the CDC.