Botulism poisoning: Bordeaux restaurant manager placed in police custody

In mid-September, his sardines were suspected of sending fifteen customers to hospital and killing a 32-year-old man. Almost three months later, the manager of Tchin Tchin Wine Bar, a Bordeaux restaurant popular with foreign clients, has just been placed in police custody on Tuesday, December 5, morning at the city’s police station, we learned from The Parisian. The information was confirmed by the prosecutor’s office. His hearings are being conducted by the Bordeaux judicial police and the central office for combating attacks on the environment and public health (Oclaesp). The establishment served home-canned food between Sept. 4 and Sept. 10, although investigators believe it was in good condition.

What’s happened ? Since September 11, health services have inspected kitchens and discovered a “manufacturing defect in canned sardines,” according to Thierry Touzet of the department’s public protection office. The manager himself admitted this: he had to throw away several sardines that had a “strong smell.”

Serious and fatal neurological disease in 5–10% of cases.

The rest, who appeared healthy, were served. But they were poorly sterilized. On September 15, a few days after this series of exceptional infections, serious and fatal neurological diseases in 5–10% of cases, the Bordeaux prosecutor began a preliminary investigation. The restaurateur is potentially accused of several crimes: manslaughter, unintentional injury, placing food on the market that is harmful to health, and selling spoiled or toxic food.

The manager faces several years in prison. “Finally, he will be able to explain the conditions of storage and production of the highly toxic food products that he sold to his clients,” comments Me’s lawyer Pierre Debuisson, who is defending the two victims. Such a conclusion will allow the investigation to move forward. »

On September 9, in Bordeaux, the first patient, a 32-year-old patient, was transferred to the Pellegrin Hospital with Miller Fisher syndrome, a rare disease affecting the cranial nerves. But one detail leads doctors to something else: his slightly dilated pupils. Resuscitator Benjamin Clouzot wonders: what if it was botulism? Deep down, he doesn’t believe it. In his entire career, he has never encountered a single case.

Patients were repatriated to their country of origin “still intubated.”

The doctor was right. Very soon, other patients suffered from the same paralysis, which prevented them from speaking and swallowing. Then their condition sharply worsens and the same actions are repeated: resuscitation, intubation, coma. Like her, Americans, Irish, English, lovers of good French wine, take turns finding themselves in hospitals between life and death.

When canned food is not properly sterilized, the food sometimes becomes contaminated with very common bacteria. Clostridium botulinum can multiply there and produce an extremely powerful toxin. “Depending on the amount taken and the sensitivity of the individual, it may cause minor and temporary digestive problems. In some cases, symptoms worsen, called descending paralysis, Nathalie Jourdan-Da Silva, an epidemiologist at French Public Health and a botulism consultant, explained to us in mid-September. We begin to see blurredly, double, then have difficulty articulating and swallowing. Even the breathing muscles can be affected. »

All patients have since been discharged from the hospital. According to resuscitator Benjamin Clouzot, “The vast majority of the six patients treated by us in Bordeaux were repatriated to their home countries in the USA, Canada and Ireland. They were evacuated while still intubated. » Some are barely recovering, like Irish couple Katrina and Eoghan, 36, who only returned… November 7th! Touched, they told us about their happiness that they were alive.