The Ministry of Health has confirmed a new case of botulism associated with packaged potato tortillas and is investigating another as probable after the notification received from the Norwegian authorities of two people who were in Barcelona in July and consumed this product.
In a new situation report, the Center for the Coordination of Health Alerts and Emergencies (CCAES) already counts 11 affected -of which 9 have been confirmed- by ??the botulism outbreak that broke out last month linked to various brands of tortillas produced by the Grupo Palacios, which resumed its activity on August 10 after having temporarily halted it while the investigation progressed.
According to the organization, on August 13, Norway reported two cases of botulism, related to each other, who had been in Barcelona between July 10 and 23.
The first, which has been confirmed, is a 39-year-old man who admitted having eaten one of these tortillas between the 17th and 23rd, when he started with the first symptoms that led him to the ICU on August 10 and requiring treatment with botulinum antitoxin.
The case that is being investigated as probable is that of a 38-year-old woman who began with symptoms on the 22nd and who had also consumed a pre-cooked tortilla between July 14 and 20. In her case, she did not need to be admitted or receive specific treatment.
As of August 16, 15 cases have been reported in people over one year of age, of which 11 have a known history of consuming packaged potato omelette in the days prior to the onset of their symptoms.
Of them, six are laboratory confirmed, and five have required intensive care, while another five are probable cases with compatible symptoms.
According to the information transmitted by the health authorities of the communities, from Italy (where two other cases come from) and from Norway, the CCAES indicates that the main food suspected of having caused the outbreak, “consumed by 11 of the 15 cases” It’s a precooked potato omelette.
The food was purchased in supermarkets in 7 communities (2 in Andalusia, 1 in Asturias, 2 in Castilla y León, 2 in Catalonia, 2 in Madrid, 1 in the Valencian Community and 1 in Galicia), and although they were of different brands, remember that they were made by a single company, which he does not mention.
“In order to study the possible association between botulism cases and the consumption of packaged tortillas, an analytical study (cases and controls) is being carried out,” the health authorities indicate.
The latest Report on food consumption in Spain carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture with data from May 2023 on a sample of 4,000 households, estimates that 12.66% of the population consumes refrigerated tortillas, compared to 73% of those registered in this outbreak, although the CCAES asks to assess these data “with prudence” because they can vary according to eating habits in different periods of the year.
Since this supra-community outbreak was detected and with international implications -the alarm was raised by Italy-, the CCAES is closely monitoring the epidemiological evolution of the cases associated with this outbreak.
In any case, Spain has a sufficient reserve of botulinum antitoxin that is used to treat the disease. “The hospital pharmacy services are in contact with the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS) to guarantee availability on a permanent basis,” guarantees the alert center.
