Funeral of Bordeaux botulism victim to take place in her native Greece

THE FUNERAL of the wife of a Castlebar man who died after falling ill in a Bordeaux restaurant earlier this month will take place in her native Greece.

Maria Grypioti (32) lost her life on September 12 just three days after she and up to a dozen customers in a Bordeaux restaurant fell ill after a suspected outbreak of botulism. Her husband Cathal Meehan, a native of Castlebar also fell ill and was hospitalised but is understood to be recovering from his ordeal.

The funeral arrangements for Ms Grypioti, a chemical lab scientist, have been released and her funeral will take place in her native Athens, the capital city of Greece, tomorrow (Wednesday) September 27.

The funeral notice read: “Deeply missed by her loving family Annie, Stelios, Giannis, aunts, uncles, grandparents and cousins.Beloved wife of Cathal Meehan of Castlebar, Marie will be forever loved and missed by her Irish family Charlie, Helen, Orla, Daire, Tara and Craig and their extended Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim family. She will be greatly missed by the many friends she met on her studies and travels.” Donations if desired have also been asked to be donated to Doctors Without Borders (Medecins sans Frontieres).

The couple who were married last May had been living in Paris and travelled to Bordeaux to enjoy the atmosphere for Ireland's first game of the Rugby World Cup. They had dined at a bar near the ground which was subsequently closed after being linked to an outbreak of botulism among customers who consumed sardines.

Ms Grypioti first fell ill in Bordeaux and attended hospital but was deemed well enough to be discharged and return to her home in Paris. There she became extremely unwell and was rushed to hospital but her condition deteriorated.

Just hours after her death, Mr Meehan also fell ill, deteriorated badly and was admitted to ICU, where he received the life-saving antitoxin to botulism.

According to Greek media, Ms Grypioti's parents are seeking answers as to why their daughter was not properly diagnosed, despite apparently being seen by doctors at two hospitals.

According to the preliminary findings of an ongoing coroner’s investigation, the 32-year-old died in her Paris home of asphyxia, caused by paralysis of the diaphragm.

Foodborne botulism is a rare illness that results from eating foods contaminated with botulinum toxin and can cause paralysis, breathing difficulty and sometimes death.