A young Brazilian woman working in Colorado on an exchange program is paralyzed and fighting for her life in the hospital after contracting a rare bacteria.
Claudia de Albuquerque Celada, 23, was hospitalized on Feb. 17 with paralysis, dizziness, double vision and shortness of breath and was diagnosed with food poisoning two weeks later, a family member told the newspaper. Aspen Daily News.
Food poisoning is a rare but serious condition caused by a toxic substance attacking the body’s nerves.
Ms. Albuquerque Celada has also been using a ventilator at Swedish Medical Center in Denver ever since.
Local health officials are now warning Americans to properly refrigerate and reheat food after it emerged that a food exchange worker was paralyzed by a deadly bacteria believed to have come from leftover soup.
to Daily mail Reports indicate that local health officials traced the Brazilian’s illness to packaged soup she purchased while working in Aspen in February.
Soup samples from the same grocery store came back negative, leading officials to believe the problem was the way the Albuquerque Celada woman stored or cooked it.
It is believed that she may not have kept the soup at a cold enough temperature, reheated it well, or properly chilled the leftovers after serving.
A spokesperson for the Pitkin County Health Department said the incident was tragic and that it is a reminder for people to reevaluate their food handling practices.
Officials advise people to refrigerate soup and perishable items at 4 degrees or above, to reheat food and not to leave food outside for more than an hour.
Medical bill $15,400 per day
Her sister, Luisa Albuquerque, wrote on social media that a Denver hospital paid for her flight to Brazil by ambulance.
“We think the recovery is much faster with family and friends, compared to the cost of being here and going back to Brazil, it’s still cheaper to go back,” her sister said.
A family colleague added that each day spent in hospital costs about A$15,400.
“Her travel insurance has long since expired and her hospital bills are mounting.
Ms. Albuquerque Celada has been working in Aspen since November on an exchange program.
Her sister said she started feeling sick and had to leave work early one day in February. “She took a shower, ate dinner and went to bed, but she was short of breath, her vision was blurry and she felt dizzy,” she told Portuguese publication UOL.
She sent letters to her friends about her illness, and when they arrived the next morning, her condition had noticeably deteriorated.
“When they arrived, my sister’s condition was much worse, she could barely breathe and some other muscles were very weak, weak arms, weak legs paralyzed,” her sister said in Portuguese.
Her family said they do not know where she contracted the disease, but believe the disease was contracted through food.
According to the newspaper, a family member wrote on social media: “The food poisoning was not diagnosed until 15 days after the onset of symptoms, but it is not known which food was contaminated with the bacteria.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines food poisoning as “a rare but serious illness caused by a toxic substance that attacks the body’s nerves.”
Symptoms usually start in the eyes, face, mouth and throat and then spread to other parts of the body.
It can also weaken the breathing muscles, which can lead to difficulty breathing or even death.
Pitkin County officials later told the newspaper that the case is believed to be isolated and there is no danger to the public.
Albuquerque Celado’s family raised A$308,000 to pay for an ambulance before a Denver hospital announced it would pay for her transport.
A fundraising campaign by her family is now aimed at paying off the A$770,000 she incurred in hospital debt.
– With the New York Post
