ANTIOCH – The outbreak of foodborne botulism originating from a gas station in Walnut Grove has left 10 people hospitalized, the state Department of Health reported Friday, and an Antioch resident may have died as a result.

The botulism was reported to have come from nacho cheese sauce sold at the Valley Oak Food and Fuel gas station in Walnut Grove.

A 37-year-old man from Antioch also died in a hospital in San Francisco on Thursday night after contracting what his family said is a rare case of botulism. ABC7 News reported on Friday that Martin Galindo contracted botulism from nacho cheese bought at the gas station and was being treated in San Francisco.

According to health officials, sale of prepared food at the Walnut Grove gas station was stopped May 5.

Inspection reports for the Valley Oaks Food and Fuel station show that on May 6 and 7, officers impounded bags of Montecito nacho cheese tortilla chips and closed the facility. On May 8, health officers from the state Department of Health impounded four bags of Gehls cheese sauce and reopened the store to sell prepackaged food items only.

Galindo died in a San Francisco hospital on Thursday night of what his family is saying was botulism. According to a GoFundMe page set up by family members, Galindo had fallen into a coma. He was declared clinically brain-dead and was taken off life support on Thursday.

It is unclear whether Galindo’s case of botulism was related to the outbreak that has hospitalized 10 people. The state Department of Health will not release information on whether any counties other than Sacramento County have reported cases of botulism.

The San Francisco County Coroner’s office stated that Galindo died at 9:15 p.m. Thursday night.

The Contra Costa Health Services Department of Communicable Disease would be notified if any residents of the county were diagnosed with botulism at any hospital, according to Vicky Balladares, communications officer for Contra Costa Health Services. As of Friday, there were no reported cases, Balladares said.

The bacteria that has been tied to this case, Clostridium botulinum, grows on food that has not been properly canned or preserved and can be found in canned cheese sauce, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The bacteria is considered a serious and rare poison that paralyzes victims, causing double or blurred vision, blurred speech, dry mouth and muscle weakness.

If caught early, before the onset of paralysis, an antitoxin can be used to treat botulism. In the past 50 years, the percentage of patients with botulism who have died as a result has dropped from 50 percent to 5 percent, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Lavinia Kelly, 33, of Sacramento, was hospitalized after picking up a bag of chips and nacho cheese sauce at the station.

According to her attorney, Bruce Clark of the Seattle-based Marler Clark law firm, Kelly felt ill the same day she consumed the food, and went to Sutter Medical Center in Sacramento. She was discharged by doctors, but was back in the emergency room the next day as her symptoms became worse. By the next morning, she needed assistance from a ventilator to continue breathing.

“The cruel thing about the toxin is it induces a slow, creeping paralysis starting at the head and moving down and includes the respiratory muscles,” Clark said. “They slowly lose the ability to breathe. If you can get on mechanical ventilation, your chances of survival are good. All will have some residual neurological damage.”

Clark, whose law firm specializes in food safety litigation, said that there are “exactly zero botulism outbreaks like this one.”

People who consumed prepared food, particularly nacho cheese sauce from the gas station between April 23 through May 5, and have these symptoms should contact their medical provider immediately.

For more information, visit www.cdc.gov/botulism

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