Botulism: Investigation opened after the death of a pensioner in Maine-et-Loire

A pensioner died Monday evening after being hospitalized for several weeks. She had been infected with botulism toxin in Maine-et-Loire. Angers prosecutor Eric Bouillard announced on Wednesday, July 30, the opening of an investigation into the cause of death.

Botulism is "the main hypothesis put forward by the ARS" (Regional Health Agency) to explain the death of this woman, who had "prepared the canned" carrots suspected of having contaminated retired couples , hospitalized between July 7 and 14, the magistrate specified, confirming information from the Courrier de l'Ouest.

The Pays de la Loire Regional Health Agency (ARS) confirmed the death of "one of the people affected by the botulism outbreak" identified in the Cholet region on Wednesday evening, without providing further details about the deceased. According to the Courrier de l'Ouest, the person was a 78-year-old woman.

In a press release dated July 17, the ARS announced that six people had been hospitalized between July 7 and 14 after "sharing, at different times, a carrot cake made from carrots put in a jar by one of the couples."

"None of these foods were sold," the ARS stressed. "The analyses carried out on the other jars consumed all gave negative results, which confirms that the contamination was limited to a single jar," the ARS clarified on Wednesday.

Mr. Bouillard said that one of the victims of the contamination was still "in intensive care" and another was still hospitalized but in a "less serious condition." A fourth person had returned home.

An investigation to "investigate the causes of death" has been opened by the Angers public prosecutor's office, the magistrate added.

Botulism is a rare and serious neurological condition, fatal in 5 to 10% of cases, caused by a very powerful toxin produced by a bacterium that grows in poorly preserved food due to insufficient sterilization.

From January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2024, 74 outbreaks of botulism were reported in metropolitan France, totaling 122 cases, including 107 hospitalized cases and 1 death, according to data from Public Health France.

In September 2024 in Indre-et-Loire, five thirty-year-olds were hospitalized in a serious condition following a birthday meal during which they consumed cans of wild garlic pesto.

In September 2023, 16 customers, including a woman who died, were identified as "suspected cases of botulism" after eating homemade canned sardines at a tourist restaurant in central Bordeaux.