Chernihiv region is located on 2 place in the number of cases of botulism among the population of Ukraine (Zhytomyr Region - 11 cases, Chernihiv Region - 8 cases).
Botulism is a fatal food poisoning that occurs after consuming products containing botulinum toxin.
Botulinum toxin is stored as long as the product itself. At the same time, it is usually impossible to distinguish a product containing a toxin from an ordinary, benign product. Sometimes toxin formation in a can can manifest itself as "bombage" (swelling) due to gas formation during the vital activity of microorganisms. But in most cases, it is impossible to recognize botulinum toxin in a product - neither by taste, nor by smell, nor by appearance.
This toxin is one of the strongest among all known biological poisons: it is 10 million times stronger than potassium cyanide and 375 thousand times stronger than rattlesnake venom. The lethal dose for a person is only 0.3 micrograms.
Botulinum toxin causes serious damage to the nervous system by blocking the transmission of nerve signals to the muscles, causing, among other things, respiratory failure and death.
In the current year, botulism occurred in Ukraine 67 people, of them 5 children. Died 1 sick.
The key to successful treatment of botulism is timely seeking medical help and urgent administration of anti-botulinum serum. Currently, there is no serum production in Ukraine. Serum produced in Canada, received as humanitarian aid, is delivered to medical networks.
The Ministry of Health of Ukraine reported that in 2024, 10 doses of anti-botulinum serum were allocated for the Chernihiv region. Taking into account that in case of a severe course of the disease, it is necessary to administer 2 doses of serum, this amount may not be enough. And although in emergency cases, medical institutions of the regions cooperate in terms of serum redistribution, but with high levels of morbidity, there is a risk of drug unavailability. In addition, it is necessary to take into account possible problems with logistics, taking into account the war in Ukraine.
The approximate cost of the serum is 100-110 thousand hryvnias. The amount of 1 day of treatment in hospital conditions - UAH 2100; with botulism, depending on the degree of severity, the patient is treated from 5 days to 2 weeks, that is, the cost of treatment is from 110,500 to 139,400 UAH.
And this is not taking into account the rehabilitation period.
The first cases are registered during the New Year and Christmas holidays - the family gathers together, parents treat them with homemade goodies, and homemade preserves are put on the table.
Products that caused botulism in 2019-2023:
| Dried fish nepatrana | 92,2 %
|
| Homemade preserves | 2,6 %
|
| Smoked fish | 5,2 %
|
For the Chernihiv region, the main product that leads to botulism diseases is dried non-dried fish made at home or purchased in places of spontaneous trade.
The occurrence of diseases is associated with non-compliance with the technology of cooking dried fish at home (including fish purchased at places of spontaneous trade).
Botulism has another dangerous feature :
if the infected product is solid-phase (fish, canned meat, smoked meat), then the so-called nest infection with botulism pathogens and the formation of toxins.
To protect yourself from botulism, you must:
- observe hygienic requirements when processing fish, poultry, and animals (in the shortest possible time after slaughter or catch, remove the intestine from it; avoid injury to the intestine and its contamination with muscle tissue content;
- thoroughly clean products from soil contamination;
- use fresh, undamaged vegetables and fruits for canning; comply with the recommended requirements for the treatment of cans, lids, heat treatment regimes for canned goods;
- at home, it is better to store vegetable products as a reserve by pickling or salting with the addition of a sufficient amount of acid, sugar and salt in a hermetically sealed container;
- refuse to buy home-preserved, smoked, salted fish and meat and other products at spontaneous markets;
- after purchasing fish products in a trading network, do not hesitate to make sure of their safety (ask for accompanying documents or inquire about the labeling of the container, which contains information about the terms and conditions of storage)
According to the report of the Koryukiv city-district department of the "Chernihiv Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine"
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