Woman paralyzed after eating ‘toxic soup’

A woman in US Colorado State has been left paralyzed after fighting a deadly bacterial infection.

Snowboarder Claudia de Albuquerque Celada, 23, was on a work exchange program in Aspen when she started suffering dizziness, double vision, and trouble breathing.

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

Botulism is caused by eating foods that have been contaminated with the bacteria C botulinum. It most commonly occurs in homemade canning, when the food is improperly preserved.

Ms Albuquerque Celada’s sister, Luisa Albuquerque, in a post shared on Instagram said that her sister moved to Colorado in November for her ‘dream job,’ though it’s unclear what industry she worked in.

About 15 days after purchasing the soup, Luisa said that her sister left work early as she started to feel ill. ‘She took a shower, had dinner and went to bed, but she had shortness of breath, blurred vision and dizziness,’ Luisa told Portugese outlet UOL.

‘She sent a message to her friends to go to her apartment, but they only say it in the morning.’

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

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

According to the latest data available, Colorado reported four cases of foodborne botulism in 2019. In 2021, the CDC reported a suspected case of botulism in Arizona.