American tourists fall ill with suspected botulism in France

Matt Jackson and his partner Kristy Benner were on vacation in Bordeaux. Picture: AP

Matt Jackson was riding an electric bike through Bordeaux wine country when he started feeling strange. Nine days later, he’s on a breathing machine in a French intensive care unit, unable to open his eyes, communicating only via notes on a whiteboard —- and infected with botulism.

Mr Jackson was among the first of a dozen people who ate preserved sardines in a Bordeaux wine bar last week to be hospitalized with what French authorities believe is the rare and potentially fatal illness.