A local outbreak of iatrogenic botulism associated with cosmetic injections of botulinum neurotoxin-containing products, England, 2025
In June 2025, 25 botulism cases were identified among recipients of botulinum neurotoxin-containing cosmetic injections in North East England. A case-control study indicated that cases were more likely to have attended two specific practitioners and received an unlicensed product (p < 0.001). Testing of seized product detected a potency (370 units/vial) that was higher than listed on its labelling (200 units/vial). Strengthened regulation of cosmetic procedures is necessary for mitigating public health risks, which are exacerbated by the availability of unlicensed products.
Authors
- Vanessa Wong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4323-8786)
- Iain Hayden
- Gauri Godbole
- Joseph Jasperse (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-5296-1766)
- Joanne Darke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3718-4889)
- Gareth J Hughes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3781-0117)
- Yvonne Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5688-2108)
- Min Fang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5241-6460)
- Sana Akbar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5476-9542)
- Alan R. Young
- Anne Worthington
- Kate Wilson
- Qudsia Naseem
- Amii Coglan
- Matt Hewson
Institutions
- European Medicines Agency (NL)
- Drug Enforcement Administration (US)
- County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust (GB)
- Durham County Council (GB)
- Humber Bridge Board (GB)
- Health Protection Agency (MV)
- UK Health Security Agency (GB)
- Food Standards Agency (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Eurosurveillance
- Published
- 2025-10-02
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.es.2025.30.39.2500746
- Primary Topic
- Botulinum Toxin and Related Neurological Disorders
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00