54-Year-Old Woman Dies in Church Botulism Outbreak That Sickened 23 Others

— -- A 54-year-old woman has died of botulism after attending a church potluck where 23 others are suspected to have become ill with the toxin, officials said today.

Up to 60 people attended a potluck at Cross Pointe Free Will Baptist Church in Lancaster, Ohio, on Sunday, and state and local health officials say they suspect about 24 people came down with botulism, a rare but potentially fatal paralytic illness.

"It might have been part of a salad or something, and it was probably part of the canned component of it that was the cause," said Dr. Andrew Murry, an infectious diseases specialist at Fairfield Medical Center in Lancaster. "Every person that we've seen was at this potluck. In other words, it's not something that was spread throughout this community."

Botulism is caused by a nerve toxin released by certain bacteria, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"All forms of botulism can be fatal and are considered medical emergencies," according to the CDC. "Foodborne botulism is a public health emergency because many people can be poisoned by eating a contaminated food."

Health officials have received an anti-toxin from the CDC that will be administered to botulism patients.

Symptoms can take between 6 hours and 10 days to arise, and they include double vision or blurred vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing and muscle weakness, according to the Fairfield Department of Public Health.