

Claudia de Albuquerque Celada Brazilian woman paralyzed (from the neck down) with botulism rare infection after eating canned soup while on work exchange program in Colorado.
A Brazilian woman working in Colorado through an exchange program has been left paralyzed from the neck down after she was infected by a rare bacteria after eating contaminated canned soup.
Claudia de Albuquerque Celada, 23, was hospitalized on February 17 suffering with paralysis, dizziness, double vision and shortness of breath — and diagnosed with botulism two weeks later, her family told the Aspen Daily News.
Albuquerque Celada who is now fighting for her life is now on a breathing aid at Swedish Medical Center in Denver ever since.

Getting back to home and closer to family and friends to best fight illness
Her sister, Luísa Albuquerque, wrote on social media that the Denver hospital is paying for her flight home to Brazil via air ambulance.
‘We think that recovery close to family and friends is much faster. Comparing the costs between staying here and returning to Brazil, the return is still cheaper,’ her sister said.
Each day she spends in the hospital costs about $10,000, the family associate added.
‘The travel insurance she had ran out a long time ago, and her hospital bills are only rising.’
Albuquerque Celada had been working in Aspen on an exchange program since November.
Her sister said she started to feel sick and had to leave work early one day in February, telling Brazil outlet UOL, ‘She took a shower, had dinner and went to bed, but she had shortness of breath, blurred vision and dizziness.’
She had messaged her friends about the sickness and when they arrived the following morning her condition had worsened significantly.

Canned soup believed to be cause of botulims rare infection
‘When they arrived, my sister was already much worse, she could barely breathe on her own and she had facial paralysis. Some other very weak muscles, weak arms, weak legs. She went to the hospital and, soon after, she was 100% paralyzed,’ her sister told the outlet.
Her family said that they do not know where she contracted the infection, but that they believed to have been food-borne.
‘Botulism was identified only 15 days after symptoms appeared, but it is not known which food was contaminated with the bacteria,’ one family member wrote on social media, according to the newspaper.
Nevertheless the dailymail reported individuals familiar with Albuquerque Celada’s case of the belief that she got the illness after consuming contaminated soup that was likely improperly canned.
Botulism is caused by eating foods that have been contaminated with the bacteria C botulinum. These toxins attack the nervous system and can cause paralysis
It most commonly occurs in homemade canning, when the food is improperly preserved. In the past, botulism has been linked to foods like sardines, pesto, tomatoes and pickles.
The illness does not spread from person to person and there is no risk to the general population.
Symptoms usually start in the eyes, face, mouth and throat before spreading to other parts of the body.
It can also weaken the muscles involved in breathing, which can lead to difficulty breathing or even death.
The disease is known to affects just on 100 Americans per year.
Officials in Pitkin County later told the Aspen Daily News the case is believed to be isolated, and that there is no risk to the public.
Before the Denver hospital said it would pay for her transport, Albuquerque Celada’s family had raised $200,000 to pay for the air ambulance.
A fundraiser set up by her family is now looking to pay the $500,000 she has incurred in hospital debt.