botulism

Botulism (Latin, botulus, "sausage") also known as "Botulinus Intoxication," is a rare but serious paralytic illness caused by botulin toxin. The toxin is produced by the bacteria Clostridium botulinum. C. botulinum is an anaerobic, Gram positive, spore-forming rod. Botulin toxin is one of the most powerful known toxins: about one microgram is lethal to humans. It acts by blocking nerve function and leads to respiratory and musculoskeletal paralysis.

There are three main kinds of botulism: Infant botulism or intestinal botulism is caused by ingesting the spores of the C. botulinum, which then grow inside the infant's intestines and release toxin. Foodborne botulism is caused by eating foods that contain botulin toxin. Wound botulism, the least common of the three, is caused by botulin toxin produced in a wound infected with C. botulinum.

All forms of botulism can be lethal and are always considered medical emergencies. Foodborne botulism can be extremely dangerous as a public health risk because multiple persons can consume the poison from a single contaminated food source. Contents [hide] 1 Prevalence 2 Symptoms 2.1 Food-borne and wound botulism 2.1.1 Case study 2.2 Infant botulism 3 Treatment 3.1 Complications 3.2 Mortality rate 4 Prevention 5 Diagnosis 6 See also 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External links //

Prevalence

An average of 110 cases of botulism are reported each year in the United States. Of these, approximately, 72% are infant botulism, and 3% are wound botulism. Outbreaks of foodborne botulism involving two or more persons occur during most years and are usually caused by the consumption of home-canned foods. The number of cases of foodborne and infant botulism has changed little in recent years, but wound botulism has increased because of the use of black tar heroin, especially in California.[1] In July 2007, a widespread recall was initiated due to botulism contamination of food manufactured by Castleberry's Food Company.[2] Shortly thereafter, in August 2007, the FDA issued a warning of botulism risk from canned French cut green beans manufactured by Lakeside Foods Inc, of Manitowoc, Wisconsin.[3]

Symptoms

Food-borne and wound botulism Normal symptoms of food-borne botulism usually occur between 12–38 hours after consuming the botulinum toxin. However, they can occur as early as 6 hours or as late as 10 days after. Wound botulism has a longer incubation period, usually between 4–14 days.

Normal symptoms include dry mouth, double and/or blurred vision, difficulty swallowing, muscle weakness, drooping eyelids, difficult breathing, slurred speech, vomiting, urinary incontinence and sometimes diarrhea. These symptoms may continue to cause paralytic ileus with severe constipation, and will lead to body paralysis. The respiratory muscles are affected as well, which may cause death due to respiratory failure. These are all symptoms of the muscle paralysis caused by the bacterial toxin.

In all cases