The European Center for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) was alerted to 67 cases of botulism detected in those who traveled to Turkey to undergo weight loss operations. In short, they were announced 53 in Turkey, 13 in Germany, one in Austria, the other in Switzerland. In the European patients, all were middle-aged adults and ten received treatment in the same clinic.
to the country Minister of Health, Carolina Dariashe issued “So far we have no cases in Spain, but always: maximum vigilance, intensive and maximum response.”he told about his arrival at the Council of Ministers of Health of the European countries which was held in Brussels.
ECD “vehemently” asked citizens to avoid intragastric treatments against obesity with botulinum toxin in Turkeybecause “there is a great risk of developing botulism”. At this time it is not clear if this event is due to the therapeutic or procedural material affected in the hospitals or if the question is about an administrative substance”. “Authorized” botulinum toxin products have been added to the treatments, but these are “not approved for the treatment of obesity by intragastric injection.”. Therefore, it is not clear “if this event represents a therapeutic or procedural problem in the hospitals where it is being treated, or if the problem is actually being managed.”
63 Of the cases for which information is available; 60 are referred to a private hospital in Istanbul and three to a private center in Smyrnareports Ep. In these two centers “the actions of the relevant parties have been suspended and investigations have been opened against the parties involved”according to Ecd.
So far, there have been as many serious as mild, though There have already been several hospitalizations and admissions to Intensive Care Units (ICU). They received hospital treatment with botulism antitoxin.
The European body fears that “new cases may occur, especially among people who travel to Turkey to undergo medical treatments involving the intragastric injection of botulinum neurotoxin,” he said.
For this reason, it reminds people who could work in Istanbul or Smyrna to undergo the operation of these brands and the presence of symptoms with botulism (such as weakness, difficulty breathing and/or swallowing) to see a doctor “as soon as possible”.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has already sent an alert in August 2022 to the detection of falsified batches of these toxins in Jordan, Turkey, Kuwait, Britain and Poland. “I do not know, however, whether these batches of care have been used in the cases reported so far,” the EDC explained this week. This is not the first time that the European center investigates similar cases, since in 2019 France reported the case of a woman with botulism who had to travel to Egypt to lose weight.
