BOTULISM
Botulism is caused by a toxin made by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum.
The botulin toxin is one of the most poisonous substances known. Botulism is the disease triggered when the toxin is absorbed by the gut, lungs, or any open wound.
C. botulinum can be aerosolized, though efforts by bioterror groups to infect large numbers of people have been unsuccessful in the past.
There are three main types of botulism:
- Foodborne botulism – occurs when a person eats something that contains the toxin made by C. botulinum.
- Infant botulism – occurs in newborns who harbor C. botulinum in their intestinal tracts.
- Wound botulism – occurs when wounds become infected with C. botulinum.
Botulism is not contagious—passed from person to person. However, because contaminated food is usually ingested by more than one person, foodborne botulism is often treated as a public health emergency.
Symptoms of foodborne botulism appear within 6 hours to 2 weeks (though most often within 12-36 hours) of ingesting contaminated food. Symptoms include nausea and vomiting, blurred vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech, difficulty breathing and swallowing, steadily increasing muscle weakness and paralysis that descends through the body. The symptoms may progress to respiratory failure and eventually death.
Antitoxin (available from the Centers for Disease Control) is effective in halting the progression of the disease and reducing the severity of symptoms if it is administered early in the course of the disease. There is no vaccine. Treatment may include use of a ventilator to assist the patient in breathing if symptoms have progressed to respiratory paralysis. Most patients recover if they have access to such care.
Because botulism is not contagious, standard precautions should be used.
