Potato Salad Made With Home-Canned Potatoes The Likely Culprit Behind Deadly Church Potluck

LANCASTER, Ohio (AP) — Health officials say the likely source of the botulism outbreak that killed one person and sickened many others at an Ohio church potluck dinner was home-canned potatoes used in a potato salad. The Ohio Department of Health said Monday that testing has narrowed the source to potato salad served at the April 19 potluck at Cross Pointe Free Will Baptist Church in Lancaster, which is southeast of Columbus. A 55-year-old woman died, and officials have confirmed 20 other botulism cases, along with 10 suspected cases. A dozen people are still in the hospital. Patients have been treated with a botulism antitoxin provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Botulism is a rare but serious illness caused by a nerve toxin that is produced by certain kinds of bacteria. Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - Category: Science Source Type: news