Woman, 23, in Colorado was left paralyzed from the neck down and on a ventilator after eating ‘CANNED SOUP’ contaminated with deadly bacteria

A woman in Colorado is paralyzed and fighting for her life after battling a deadly bacterial infection that her friends believe she contracted from canned soup.

Snowboarder Claudia de Albuquerque Celada, 23, originally from Brazil, was attending a work exchange program in Aspen when she began experiencing dizziness, double vision and difficulty breathing.

Within 24 hours, all the muscles in her body became paralyzed, leaving her on a ventilator.

It would take two weeks for doctors to find the cause: botulism, an infection that attacks the body’s nerve tissue and affects only 100 Americans a year.

People familiar with Ms. Albuquerque Celada’s case believe she contracted the disease after consuming contaminated soup.

Botulism is caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium C botulinum. These toxins attack the nervous system and can cause paralysis

It is most common in home canning, when the food is not stored properly. In the past, botulism has been linked to foods such as sardines, pesto, tomatoes and pickles.

The disease does not spread from person to person and there is no risk to the general population.

Ms. Albuquerque Celada’s sister, Luisa Albuquerque, wrote on Instagram that her sister moved to Colorado in November for her “dream job,” although it is unclear what industry she worked in.

About 15 days after purchasing the soup, Luisa said her sister left work early because she started feeling sick. “She took a shower, ate and went to bed, but she suffered from shortness of breath, blurred vision and dizziness,” Luisa told the Portuguese newspaper UOL.

“She sent a message to her friends to go to her apartment, but they won’t tell her until the morning.”

‘When they arrived, my sister was already much worse, she could barely breathe on her own and she had facial paralysis.’

She also suffered from weak muscles, arms and legs. Some other very weak muscles, weak arms, weak legs.

“She went to the hospital and shortly afterwards she was 100 percent paralyzed,” Luisa said.

Ms. Albuquerque Celada’s family was able to fly to Colorado within a week. She was diagnosed on March 1.

Doralice Goes, a fellow botulism survivor from Brazil who says she is familiar with the case, said Ms. Albuquerque Celada contracted botulism from canned soup she got from a market stall.

“We know it was an industrialized soup,” she wrote on Instagram.

Ms. Albuquerque Celada’s family has not confirmed what food it was, although they have stated it was a foodborne infection.

It is unclear whether Ms Goes knows the family personally and has spoken to them, although she has provided updates on the case and information about botulism, having survived the condition herself last year. DailyMail.com has contacted Ms Goes for more information.

The Pitkin County Health Department, where Aspen is located, said last week that they believe Ms. Albuquerque Celada’s case is an “isolated incident.”

Officials added that they “believe we have identified the source of the exposure and have determined that there is no risk to the public at this time.”

The agency also said details cannot be shared “to protect the privacy of the case.”

Colorado reported four cases of foodborne botulism in 2019, according to the most recent data available.

DailyMail.com has contacted the Pitkin County Health Department for comment.

This wouldn’t be the first time canned soup has become contaminated with botulism.

In 2021, the CDC reported a suspected case of botulism in Arizona. The Arizona Department of Health collected samples from the patient’s home, including an empty can of chicken rice and vegetable soup, according to a USDA case report.

Tests found botulinum toxin type A in both the patient’s blood and the can. The soup reportedly had an unpleasant odor when opened, but the can did not leak or bulge.

Ms. Albuquerque Celada’s family said she was in the hospital for about 50 days and her recovery is expected to take six months to a year. They have been working to raise $200,000 to bring her back to Sao Paulo, where she comes from. The family has exhausted their travel insurance.

“We are in a country that is not ours, where we speak a different language, with people who are not part of our family,” Luisa wrote on social media.

‘We think that recovery will be much faster close to family and friends. If you compare the costs between staying here and returning to Brazil, the return is still cheaper.”

The Swedish Medical Center in Denver, where Ms. Albuquerque Celada is hospitalized, announced it will cover the costs of her return to Brazil.

Although fewer than five in a hundred people die from botulism, it can cause lifelong disability and require extreme physical therapy, according to the CDC. Patients who are paralyzed must relearn how to walk, talk and perform daily tasks.

The CDC says that even after recovery, survivors can suffer from fatigue and shortness of breath for years.

Ms. Goes, who said Ms. Albuquerque Celada’s case was related to canned soup, was diagnosed with botulism last year and became paralyzed after eating pesto from a farmer’s market, which she believes was contaminated.

Mrs. Goes stayed in the hospital for about a year to recover from the paralysis.

“I’ve had treatments every day of the week,” she said last year, “from myofascial release to analgesia, laser, suction cup(s), pilates to restore muscle tone, strengthening and pulmonary physiotherapy.”

“It’s part of my history now and I have to overcome the difficulties I face now.”

She now advocates for botulism awareness and better food safety standards. ‘We need to talk about it and make consumers, industry and hospitals aware that this disease exists today. More food safety regulations need to be implemented,” she wrote on Instagram.