Botulism

Botulism (from Latin botulus, "sausage") is a rare but serious paralytic illness caused by a nerve toxin, botulin, that is produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. Botulin is the most potent known toxin, blocking nerve function and leading to respiratory and musculoskeletal paralysis.

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There are three main kinds of botulism:

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• Foodborne botulism is a form of foodborne illness and is caused by eating foods that contain the botulism toxin.
• Wound botulism is caused by toxin produced from a wound infected with Clostridium botulinum.
• Infant botulism is caused by consuming the spores of the botulinum bacteria, which then grow in the intestines and release toxin.

All forms of botulism can be fatal and are considered medical emergencies. Foodborne botulism can be especially dangerous as a public health problem because many people can be poisoned from a single contaminated food source.

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In the United States an average of 110 cases of botulism are reported each year. Of these, approximately 25% are foodborne, 72% are infant botulism, and the rest are wound botulism. Outbreaks of foodborne botulism involving two or more persons occur during most years and usually are caused by eating contaminated 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.

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Botulism: Symptoms (foodborne and wound forms) ►



 

Latin: Latin is an Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. It gained great importance as the formal language of the Roman Empire. All Romance languages are descended from Latin, and many words based on Latin are found in other modern languages such as English. The ...

Toxin: A toxin, in a scientific context, is a biologically produced substance that causes injury to the health of a living thing on contact or absorption, typically by interacting with biological macromolecules such as enzymes and receptors. Toxicity may be acute (as in a bee sting), chronic (as in the Gua...

Botulin: REDIRECT Botulinum toxin...