“He can no longer speak or see”: American in intensive care in Bordeaux hospital after poisoning by sardines in wine bar | Abroad

A trip to the wine city of Bordeaux and to the fashionable holiday island ÎLe de Ré, and certainly a visit to some vineyards and wine bars; that was on Matthew Jackson and Kristy Brenner’s vacation schedule. The couple from California thoroughly enjoyed their holiday in France at the beginning of this month. But after a few days things went terribly wrong. Together with other customers, the Americans contracted botulism in a wine bar. Matthew has now been in intensive care at Saint André Hospital in Bordeaux for almost three weeks.

Botulism is a rare but life-threatening disease caused by toxins from the Clostridium botulinum bacteria. The toxins attack the nervous system, causing paralysis and muscle weakness. “We don’t know when we will be able to go home again,” Kristy tells ‘Le Parisien’. She is okay, but Matthew’s condition is still serious.

“He can no longer speak or see. To communicate, he writes on a board. I really hope he will be able to walk again.” The American could soon be flown to a hospital in Los Angeles. “But he is well cared for here,” says Kristy. “A few days ago I could also read in his writings: ‘I am in good hands’.”

The tourists contracted the condition at the ‘Tchin Tchin Wine Bar’ in Bordeaux, allegedly after eating home-made canned sardines that had not been stored properly. Other customers were also served the sardines and became ill. Eleven of a total of fifteen victims were admitted to various hospitals in Bordeaux, six people ended up in intensive care.

After a few days there was also a death: a woman from Paris, 32-year-old Marie G., succumbed. While one victim after another slowly but surely recovered, the condition of three people just deteriorated. This includes 41-year-old American Matthew Jackson, who had to be intubated (insertion of a breathing tube) and is still in intensive care.

His girlfriend Kristy explains that the couple visited the wine bar in question on Monday, September 4, just two days after arriving in south-west France. “Unfortunately, we just decided to go to that wine bar,” she told ‘Le Parisien’. The bar was at the top of their list to visit, several people had recommended it. The bar also receives very good reviews on Google, among others.

“We arrived around 6 p.m. and we immediately had a great time,” says Kristy. “We tasted different wines and enjoyed some charcuterie and sardines as an aperitif. The owner was very sweet. We stayed for about an hour and then we left for another restaurant for dinner.”

The sardines that caused the botulism outbreak didn’t taste strange, Kristy says. Earlier, the emotional owner of Tchin Tchin Wine Bar had admitted to French media that some of his homemade sardine preserves had a strong odor when he opened them. He threw away the smelly cans, the other portions looked good and were served to customers. “I only ate a few sardines, maybe one or two,” Kristy said. “Matthew ate two. They tasted normal.”

But the next day, as the couple headed to Saint Émilion for a tour of the vineyards, Matthew started feeling unwell. Kristy says at first she thought he might be a little tired. But no, something was clearly seriously wrong here. “We were cycling through the vineyards when he started seeing double and felt dizzy. He could no longer cycle. The tour organizers had to come pick us up in a van. Once we got in the van he started throwing up.”

The couple returned to their AirBnb, where Matthew took a shower and lay in bed. But he didn’t get better. On the contrary. “His mouth became very dry, his tongue became paralyzed, he could no longer swallow. I was panicking, I thought he was having a stroke. I called 911 and ran out into the street to look for help, because I don’t speak French.”

In the hospital, the doctors did not immediately think of botulism. That is extremely rare. After two days, Matthew ended up in intensive care and was intubated. Only after five days did the test results confirm that it was indeed botulism.

On September 7, three days after the visit to the wine bar, Kristy also started not feeling well. “My tongue was dry and I could barely feel my fingertips,” says the American. “I had trouble swallowing, but I didn’t have to be admitted.” Kristy ate only soft baby food for a few days and after three days of symptoms, doctors confirmed that she too was suffering from botulism poisoning. Both she and Matthew were given an anti-toxin. The road to recovery is probably still long for him.

Meanwhile, authorities in Bordeaux have opened an investigation into, among other things, manslaughter, accidental injury and the sale of tainted or poisonous food. The Tchin Tchin Wine Bar is temporarily closed.