2 California sisters in ICU with botulism amid outbreak traced to home-canned nopales
A family party near Fresno, California, resulted in 10 people being treated for botulism, a rare but serious illness, traced to home-canned nopales, or cactus pads.
A family party near Fresno, California, resulted in 10 people being treated for botulism, a rare but serious illness caused by bacteria that affects the nervous system, public officials said Friday.
The culprit in the outbreak? Home-canned nopales, or cactus pads.
Two sisters are currently recovering in intensive care, a spokesperson for the Fresno County Department of Public Health told NBC News. One sister underwent a tracheostomy, a procedure to create a breathing tube in the neck, due to respiratory complications caused by the disease.
The eight other hospitalized individuals have been released, and there have been no new reported cases since.
"I've been here with the county for 26 years and this is the first time we've actually had a foodborne botulism outbreak," Norma Sanchez, a disease specialist with the Fresno County Department of Public Health, said in a press briefing Tuesday.
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