The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) asks all EU countries to notify health authorities if they detect cases of botulism.
The alert comes after 14 cases were identified in people who, at the end of February, underwent weight-loss surgeries in Istanbul, Turkey, where this type of intervention is cheaper.
The aesthetic treatment in question consists of injecting botulinum toxin into the digestive system, better known as “botox”, a used neurotoxin produced by the Clostridium botulinum bacterium, the same agent that causes botulism.
The objective is to avoid contractions of the abdominal muscles and thus achieve a permanent feeling of satiety by reducing food intake.
Despite being widely used in dermocosmetics (by injection and small doses into the skin to reduce wrinkles, for example), botulinum toxin is the deadliest toxin produced by bacteria and affects the nervous system, causing muscle paralysis, respiratory failure and finally death. It is also classified as a biological agent of potential bioterrorism.
The patients – 12 Germans, one Austrian and one Swiss – received the same treatment at the same clinic in Istanbul and ended up getting sick on their return to their countries of origin. All had to be hospitalized, some in intensive care.
The ECDC also recommends that anyone who has undergone botulinum toxin cosmetic treatments in Turkey seek urgent medical help for symptoms such as difficulty swallowing and breathing, drooping eyelids, neck weakness and general muscle weakness.
According to El País, this type of surgery to lose weight can cost eight thousand euros in Spain, while in Turkey it does not exceed two thousand euros.
Source: TSF
