An outbreak of food-borne botulism in Scotland, United Kingdom, November 2011

L M Browning; H Prempeh; C Little; C Houston; K Grant; J M Cowden; on behalf of the United Kingdom Botulism Incident Management Team

doi:10.2807/ese.16.49.20036-en

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An outbreak of food-borne botulism in Scotland, United Kingdom, November 2011
L M Browning¹ , H Prempeh² , C Little³ , C Houston ⁴ , K Grant⁵ , J M Cowden¹ , on behalf of the United Kingdom Botulism Incident Management Team⁶
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Affiliations: ¹ Health Protection Scotland, National Health Service National Services Scotland, Glasgow, United Kingdom ² National Health Service Forth Valley, Stirling, United Kingdom ³ Health Protection Services – Colindale, Health Protection Agency, London, United Kingdom ⁴ Food Standards Agency, London, United Kingdom ⁵ Foodborne Pathogens Reference Unit, Health Protection Agency, Centre for Infections, London, United Kingdom ⁶ Representatives from Health Protection Scotland, Health Protection Agency, Forth Valley NHS Board, Stirling Council, Greater Glasgow and Clyde National Health Service Board, the Scottish Government

Correspondence:
J Cowden
john.cowden nhs.net
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Citation style for this article: Browning L M, Prempeh H, Little C, Houston C, Grant K, Cowden J M, on behalf of the United Kingdom Botulism Incident Management Team Collective. An outbreak of food-borne botulism in Scotland, United Kingdom, November 2011. Euro Surveill. 2011;16(49):pii=20036. https://doi.org/10.2807/ese.16.49.20036-en Received: 02 Dec 2011

Abstract

An investigation is currently underway to explain an outbreak of food-borne botulism in Scotland. Three children in the same family were confirmed as having botulism following consumption of a meal made with a jar of korma sauce. Residual sauce from the jar, the jar lid and a remnant of the meal, all tested positive for Clostridium botulinum type A toxin. The children are recovering, although two remain ventilated and in intensive care unit.