A Roanoke physician who died Monday may the first victim of food-borne botulism poisoning in Virginia since 2002.

A relative said this morning that medical authorities told the family of Dr. Ae-Sik Kim, 57, that her death may be related to botulism poisoning.

Kwang Kim, the doctor’s younger brother, said the family is still awaiting laboratory results to confirm the death was caused by botulism. They expect those results Thursday, he said.

Kwang Kim said the state health department approached the family last week about the doctor’s illness. Dr. Kim’s husband, George Makarie, is also ill and was still hospitalized Wednesday morning, Kwang Kim said. He said he doesn’t know if Makarie’s illness is also related to botulism.

The relative’s comments come a day after the Virginia Department of Health said it is investigating two reported cases of possible food-borne botulism in the Alleghany-Roanoke City Health District, which includes Roanoke County, where the couple lives.

Tuesday, health department would not specify when and where the cases originated or if either one was fatal. They said the two cases are related to home-canned food and are isolated incidents confined to a single household.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, botulism poisoning is a rare but serious paralytic illness caused by botulism toxin. One of the sources of botulism toxin is improperly home-canned food. The United States averages about 110 cases of botulism poisoning each year, and about 8 percent of the cases are fatal.