An Irish person is receiving emergency treatment in France after a suspected botulism outbreak in the city of Bordeaux, which has left one woman dead.
The Irish person is one of 12 other people, mostly tourists, who became ill after eating sardines at a Bordeaux wine bar.
The city hosted thousands of Irish fans at the weekend who travelled to see Ireland defeat Romania in their opening game of the Rugby World Cup 2023.
In a statement, the Irish Embassy in France said it was "aware of a botulism outbreak linked to a wine bar in Bordeaux".
"We advise Irish citizens who ate in Tchin Tchin Wine Bar between September 4th and 10th to immediately consult a doctor if experiencing any symptoms."
Meanwhile, the HSE has advised that anyone who ate sardines at the wine bar between the September dates and who feel unwell to seek urgent medical care at an emergency department.
Botulism is a serious neurological illness typically brought on by eating food that has been improperly preserved.
The city centre restaurant had preserved the sardines itself, the DGS health authority said last night.
At Bordeaux's Pellegrin hospital, Dr Benjamin Clouzeau said the woman who died had checked into a hospital near Paris after travelling back with her partner.
She returned home and died there. Her partner remains in intensive care.
In total, 12 people are still receiving emergency treatment, health services said. Five are on respiratory support.
They include American, German and Canadian nationals, Dr Clouzeau said.
A German travelled home for treatment, as did a resident of Barcelona, Spain, the doctor said.
All of them had eaten at the restaurant between 4 and 10 September when there are typically large numbers of tourists in the southwestern town, which is famous for wine and food.
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They all had sardines that had been stored by the restaurant owner himself in jars, the DGS said.
Botulism is deadly in 5-10% of cases because of a toxin that can be generated by clostridium botulinum bacteria when preserved food is insufficiently sterilised.
Authorities were still running tests at the restaurant, the DGS said, adding it could not rule out further cases of botulism, which has an incubation period of up to several days.
They were trying to contact other people who may have eaten sardines at the restaurant. A total of 25 people could be affected, they said.
The illness can cause muscle paralysis lasting several weeks, with the most immediate danger stemming from affected respiratory muscles.
An international health alert has gone out asking hospitals to look out for patients who have recently been to Bordeaux and have symptoms including diarrhoea, vomiting or problems with vision or speech.
Anti-toxins from military stocks were being brought to Bordeaux.
Local newspaper Sud-Ouest quoted the restaurant owner as saying he had thrown out some of the jars containing sardines because of a "strong smell" from the containers when opened.
But others "appeared in good condition and were served up to customers", he said.
The restaurant is closed today and the owner told to abstain from any more home-made sardine preparations, with the authorities seizing the remaining sardines for further testing.
The establishment, which had never had previous hygiene issues, will be thoroughly cleaned.
