The number of people who have contracted botulism after undergoing “gastric botox” surgery in Turkey has risen to 67.
According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), 60 cases are associated with a private hospital in Istanbul and three with a hospital in Izmir, Turkey, in surgeries performed between February 22 and March 1.
Several people had to be hospitalized, some in intensive care, with symptoms ranging from moderate to severe.
The departments involved in this type of surgery in the two hospitals were closed. An investigation by the Turkish authorities revealed that the administered products were not approved for injection into the digestive system.
However, it has not yet been confirmed whether the development of the disease is associated with the product used or the way it was administered.
ECDC calls on all countries in the community to notify health authorities if they detect cases of botulism.
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 ECDC also recommends that anyone who has undergone botulinum toxin cosmetic treatments in Turkey, where this type of intervention is cheaper, seek urgent medical help in case of symptoms such as difficulty swallowing and breathing, drooping eyelids, blurred vision, neck weakness, and general muscle weakness.
Source: TSF
