A mass poisoning at a funeral in Mozambique involving beer that was contaminated with Burkholderia gladioli leaves 75 dead and over 230 people ill.
Mozambique funeral beer poisoning
On 9 January 2015, 75 people died and 230 were made ill after drinking contaminated beer at a funeral in Mozambique. All of the people affected had consumed the local beer, pombe, on 9 January, which had been inadvertently contaminated by the bacterium Burkholderia gladioli which produced the toxic compound bongkrekic acid.
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Africa to the south and southwest. The sovereign state is separated from the Comoros, Mayotte, and Madagascar through the Mozambique Channel to the east. The capital and largest city is Maputo.
Burkholderia gladioli
Burkholderia gladioli is a species of aerobic gram-negative rod-shaped bacteria that causes disease in both humans and plants. It can also live in symbiosis with plants and fungi and is found in soil, water, the rhizosphere, and in the microbiome of many animals. It was formerly known as Pseudomonas marginata.
January 9
January 9 is the ninth day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 356 days remain until the end of the year.