---
title: Botulism Causes Ohio Illnesses
date: 2014-08-04T14:23:57-07:00
author: Bill Marler
canonical_url: "https://marlerclark.com/news_events/botulism-causes-ohio-illnesses"
section: News
---
[All News](/news_events) / [Outbreaks](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/outbreaks) /

# Botulism Causes Ohio Illnesses

 

 

 [Brie Zeitner of the Plain Dealer](http://www.cleveland.com/healthfit/index.ssf/2014/08/two_ohio_cases_of_botulism_inv.html) reports that two people in Ohio have been hospitalized with botulism that public health officials suspect is connected to a nationwide recall of VR Green Farms’ jarred sauces.

The two Ohio patients, both Cincinnati residents in their 20’s, were each on ventilators at one point but are improving, according to the Cincinnati Health Department. One patient is still on a ventilator and was transferred last week to an acute long-term care facility, Dr. Steven Englender, director of the department’s Center for Public Health Preparedness said in an email. The other patient is breathing unassisted and “may have been discharged by now,” he said.

Preliminary testing by the Cincinnati Health Department found evidence of Clostridium botulinum type B in a meal of pasta that contained the recalled pesto sauce. The lab is still awaiting confirmation of those results.

VR Green Farms of San Clemente, CA, is voluntarily [recalling](http://www.cdph.ca.gov/Pages/NR14-067.aspx) a variety of its jarred food products because they may have been improperly produced, therefore making them susceptible to contamination by [Clostridium botulinum](http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/divisions/dfbmd/diseases/botulism/).

The recalled products include Pine Nut Basil Pesto, Pickled Farm Mix, Old World Tomato Sauce, Sundried Tomatoes in Olive Oil, Tuscan Grilling Sauce and Pasta Sauce. Photographs of these products can be found [here](http://cdph.ca.gov/pubsforms/Documents/fdbFrVRG1p.pdf). The products were sold at the VR Green Farms stand in San Clemente, CA, and via the Internet to consumers throughout the United States.

  

### Other Botulism Lawsuits

 [By Heart Infant Formula tied to Botulism Outbreak spikes to 51](https://marlerclark.com/by-heart-infant-formula-tied-to-botulism-outbreak)

 [Botulism Outbreak at Valley Oak Food and Fuel](https://marlerclark.com/botulism-outbreak-at-valley-oak-food-and-fuel)

 [Marler Clark Files Two Botulism Lawsuits](https://marlerclark.com/marler-clark-files-two-botulism-lawsuits)

 

 

 

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##### Related Resources

   

 

######  [What is Botulism?](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/botulism/what-is-botulism) 

Botulism is a life-threatening paralytic illness caused by neurotoxins produced by an anaerobic, gram-positive, spore-forming bacterium—Clostridium botulinum. Botulism is a rare disease and only affects a few hundred persons each...

 

######  [Epidemiology and Microbiology of Botulism](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/botulism/epidemiology-and-microbiology-of-botulism) 

C. botulinum bacteria and spores are widely distributed in nature because they are indigenous to soils and waters. They occur in both cultivated and forest soils, bottom sediment of streams...

 

######  [Symptoms of Botulism](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/botulism/symptoms-of-botulism) 

After their ingestion, botulinum neurotoxins are absorbed primarily in the duodenum and jejunum, pass into the bloodstream, and travel to synapses in the nervous system. There, the neurotoxins cause flaccid...

 

######  [Detection and Treatment of Botulism](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/botulism/detection-and-treatment-of-botulism) 

Although botulism can be diagnosed based on clinical symptoms, distinguishing it from other diseases is often difficult, especially in the absence of other known persons affected by the condition. Common...

 

######  [Botulism Outcomes and Long-Term and Permanent Injury](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/botulism/botulism-outcomes-and-long-term-and-permanent-injury) 

In the past 50 years, mortality from botulism has fallen dramatically (from about 50% to 8%) because of advances in supportive care, which is the mainstay of treatment. The respiratory...

 

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