What we know about the death of a pensioner infected with botulism after baking a cake

A 78-year-old woman, hospitalized since mid-July after contracting botulism , died during the night from Monday to Tuesday in Maine-et-Loire .

According to Le Courrier de l'Ouest , the septuagenarian was contaminated along with five of her guests after cooking a carrot cake with vegetables that she had canned herself.

In a press release dated July 17, the ARS announced that six people had been hospitalized between July 7 and 14.

An investigation to "investigate the causes of death" has been opened by the Angers public prosecutor's office.

A rare neurological condition that is fatal in 5 to 10% of cases, botulism is caused by a highly potent toxin produced by a bacterium that thrives in poorly preserved food due to insufficient sterilization. However, the disease remains rare in France.

"We count 30 to 50 cases maximum per year in France, isolated, in families, because the food industry uses rigorous standards," reassures Bruno Mégarbane , the head of the medical resuscitation and toxicology department at Lariboisière hospital in Paris, on RMC .

The rise of homemade food is pushing many people to make their own cans, but the practice carries many risks.

The doctor therefore calls for caution: "when you want to prepare preserves at home, you must follow a certain number of rules and ensure hygiene and cleanliness measures for the packaging and the container."

From January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2024, 74 outbreaks of botulism were reported in metropolitan France, totaling 122 cases, including 107 hospitalized cases and 1 death, according to Public Health France.