Outbreak of Foodborne Botulism in an Immigrant Community: Overcoming Delayed Disease Recognition, Ambiguous Epidemiologic Links, and Cultural Barriers to Identify the Cause

Abstract

We describe a botulism outbreak involving 4 Middle Eastern men complicated by delayed diagnosis, ambiguous epidemiologic links among patients, and illness onset dates inconsistent with a point-source exposure. Homemade turshi, a fermented vegetable dish, was the likely cause. Patients ate turshi at 2 locations on different days over 1 month.