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The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) under the Department of Health confirmed Sunday that a woman who died April 14 after eating dried beancurd and preserved oysters had a botulism infection. CDC Deputy Director Lin Ting said lab tests confirmed that the 44-year-old woman from Miaoli County had a botulism infection, which is usually caused by a nerve toxin produced by clostridium botulinum bacteria. Several mice were injected with the woman's blood serum and they died within 24 hours, Lin added. However, further lab tests will be required to determine what type of botulism caused the woman's death, he said. It was also still not known whether it was the dried beancurd or the preserved oysters which the woman and her mother-in-law ate that caused the fatal botulism infection, Lin said. The woman's 71-year-old mother-in-law has been on intubation at Taichung Veterans General Hospital in central Taiwan since she fell ill after eating the beancurd and oysters. Lab tests have confirmed that she also has a botulism infection. She has received two doses of botulismus-antitoxin that were rushed to the hospital by the CDC and which saved her life, according to Lin. However, the daughter-in-law was not that lucky, as she was rushed to a different hospital in Taoyuan County, northern Taiwan which was not alert enough to seek emergency assistance from the CDC for the treatment of botulism, Lin said.
Samples of two packs of dried beancurd and a can of salted oysters that were found in the women's home in Miaoli were retrieved by the Food and Drug Administration for testing, but the lab reports will not be available for two weeks, the CDC said. The two Miaoli women were the third and fourth botulism cases this year, following a mother and daughter in Taoyuan County who were diagnosed in early April, the CDC said. The Taoyuan mother and daughter were treated with botulismus-antitoxin. Meanwhile, the Taoyuan County Public Health Bureau on Friday closed operations for two weeks at the two companies where the dried beancurd was made and ordered that the products be pulled from the shelves of major grocery stores. However, the companies have complained of mistreatment, saying that their products were safe and were made in line with government standards. They complained that the two-week suspension will cost them hundreds of thousands of New Taiwan dollars. "I hope the relevant tests will be completed soon so that my company's name can be cleared, " said Tseng Fan-Hsiang, owner of Cheng Hsiang Foods Co. The latest incident has also resulted in declining business in Taoyuan County's Dasi township -- the center of dried beancurd production in Taiwan. Huang Chien-chia, president of Tafang Foods, a well-established manufacturer of dried beancurd and related products in Dasi, said his store's business has shrunk by one-third this weekend. Chiang Chiu-yun, the owner of another company known as Wan Li Hsiang which was established in 1921, said business at her store has also been affected by the incident, but added that her faithful customers were not at all fazed.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) under the Department of Health confirmed Sunday that a woman who died April 14 after eating dried beancurd and preserved oysters had a botulism infection. CDC Deputy Director Lin Ting said lab tests confirmed that the 44-year-old woman from Miaoli County had a botulism infection, which is usually caused by a nerve toxin produced by clostridium botulinum bacteria. Several mice were injected with the woman's blood serum and they died within 24 hours, Lin added. However, further lab tests will be required to determine what type of botulism caused the woman's death, he said. It was also still not known whether it was the dried beancurd or the preserved oysters which the woman and her mother-in-law ate that caused the fatal botulism infection, Lin said. The woman's 71-year-old mother-in-law has been on intubation at Taichung Veterans General Hospital in central Taiwan since she fell ill after eating the beancurd and oysters. Lab tests have confirmed that she also has a botulism infection. She has received two doses of botulismus-antitoxin that were rushed to the hospital by the CDC and which saved her life, according to Lin. However, the daughter-in-law was not that lucky, as she was rushed to a different hospital in Taoyuan County, northern Taiwan which was not alert enough to seek emergency assistance from the CDC for the treatment of botulism, Lin said.
Samples of two packs of dried beancurd and a can of salted oysters that were found in the women's home in Miaoli were retrieved by the Food and Drug Administration for testing, but the lab reports will not be available for two weeks, the CDC said. The two Miaoli women were the third and fourth botulism cases this year, following a mother and daughter in Taoyuan County who were diagnosed in early April, the CDC said. The Taoyuan mother and daughter were treated with botulismus-antitoxin. Meanwhile, the Taoyuan County Public Health Bureau on Friday closed operations for two weeks at the two companies where the dried beancurd was made and ordered that the products be pulled from the shelves of major grocery stores. However, the companies have complained of mistreatment, saying that their products were safe and were made in line with government standards. They complained that the two-week suspension will cost them hundreds of thousands of New Taiwan dollars. "I hope the relevant tests will be completed soon so that my company's name can be cleared, " said Tseng Fan-Hsiang, owner of Cheng Hsiang Foods Co. The latest incident has also resulted in declining business in Taoyuan County's Dasi township -- the center of dried beancurd production in Taiwan. Huang Chien-chia, president of Tafang Foods, a well-established manufacturer of dried beancurd and related products in Dasi, said his store's business has shrunk by one-third this weekend. Chiang Chiu-yun, the owner of another company known as Wan Li Hsiang which was established in 1921, said business at her store has also been affected by the incident, but added that her faithful customers were not at all fazed.