Two people have died and a third remains in critical condition in Holguín after having ingested food prepared with nitrite salt, an industrial preservative that was mistakenly used in the kitchen of a family in the Ramón Quintana neighborhood.
The Provincial Health Directorate of Holguín confirmed the events this Wednesday in a statement released on social media.
According to health authorities, on Tuesday night, Yaneisi Peña Escobar, 37 years old, prepared a meal that was also consumed by her mother, Clara Suárez Rodríguez, 63 years old, and her stepfather, Manuel Fernández Fernández, 65.
The three were rushed to the Vladimir Ilich Lenin Provincial General Hospital.
Yaneisi arrived at the hospital in a coma and requiring mechanical ventilation, after experiencing intense sweating and seizures. By noon on Wednesday, according to the official report, she was "awake, conscious, cooperative, and disconnected from the ventilation equipment," although she continues to be reported as critical under intensive care.
Unfortunately, her mother and stepfather did not survive. Both were admitted to the Emergency Intensive Care Unit with severe neurological deterioration and a slow progression. Despite resuscitation efforts, they passed away due to severe pulmonary edema.
Authorities indicate that Yaneisi worked as a domestic employee in a house near hers, where a sausage production center operates.
From that location, not identified by health authorities, the nitre salt would have been obtained, although the statement claims that "it is unknown how the nitre salt, which was used in the preparation of the food" consumed by the family was acquired.
The healthcare system in Holguín and joint forces from MININT stated that they are investigating the case to clarify all the elements.
The Provincial Health Directorate expressed in its statement: "We lament these painful losses that could have been avoided, and we share in the sorrow of family and friends."
Saltpeter —potassium nitrate or sodium nitrite, depending on the context— is an industrial preservative used in the production of cured meats that, in inappropriate doses, causes methemoglobinemia: a condition that prevents blood from transporting oxygen and can lead to seizures, cyanosis, pulmonary edema, and death.
The product is visually similar to table salt, which makes accidental confusion easier.
This month it was also revealed that dozens of people suffered from food poisoning in Pedro Betancourt, Matanzas.
The affected individuals arrived en masse at the local outpatient clinic with vomiting, diarrhea, and weakness after consuming food at a private establishment in the municipality.
In total, the clinic attended to 30 patients, of whom 11 were referred to higher-level medical centers: eight children to the Eliseo Noel Caamaño Pediatric Hospital and three adults to the general hospital in Jovellanos.
The food consumed by the affected individuals was yellow rice with sausages and chicken in sauce, prepared in a private establishment, according to the official statement, which did not disclose the name of the venue.
At the end of August in Santiago de Cuba, 52 people were treated and 18 hospitalized following a similar incident of mass food poisoning.
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