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| Emergency Preparedness |
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| Botulism |
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Patient Handouts
What is botulism?
Botulism is a muscle-paralyzing disease caused by a toxin made by a bacterium known as Clostridium botulinum.
How does a person get botulism?
There are three natural ways botulism occurs, as well as exposure through deliberate criminal release.
- Foodborne botulism occurs when a person ingests pre-formed toxin that leads to illness within a few hours to days. Foodborne botulism is a public health emergency because the contaminated food may still be available to other persons besides the patient.
- Infant botulism occurs in a small number of susceptible infants each year who harbor C. botulinum in their intestinal tract.
- Wound botulism occurs when wounds are infected with C. botulinum.
- Inhalation botulism results from breathing in aerosolized toxin.
What are the natural sources of botulism?
Foodborne botulism is due to eating food containing the toxin. It often involves improperly processed home canned foods. Since Clostridium boutlinum is an anaerobic bacterium, it can grow in cooked foods that are not properly stored. Infant botulism has been associated with eating honey that contains the bacterial spores. Light and dark corn syrups have also been reported to contain the spores, although cases of infant botulism have not been linked to corn syrup. Wound botulism occurs when toxin is produced in a wound infected with Clostridium botulinum organisms. Inhalation botulism would most likely occur as a result of an act of bioterrorism.
What are the symptoms of botulism?
Foodborne and infant botulism produce symptoms that affect the nervous system's control over muscles. The symptoms of foodborne botulism include blurred or double vision, dry mouth, and muscle paralysis that may affect breathing. About 5-10% of persons with foodborne botulism die. Infant botulism has a wide range of symptoms including constipation, weakness, difficulty breathing, poor feeding and poor reflexes. About 1% of the cases of infant botulism die. Wound and inhalation botulism produce symptoms similar to foodborne botulism.
How long after exposure do symptoms appear?
Symptoms of foodborne botulism usually occur 12 - 36 hours after eating the food, but may take several days.
What is the treatment for botulism?
Supportive care in a hospital is almost always necessary. If antitoxin is given early in the course of foodborne botulism, it can be life-saving. Antitoxin is not used to treat infant botulism; however, the use of intravenous antibodies against the botulinum toxin may be effective in treating infants.
Can botulism be prevented?
Recognized sources of infant botulism, such as honey, should not be fed to infants. All canned and preserved foods should be properly processed and prepared. Bulging containers should not be opened and foods with off-odors should not be eaten or even tasted. Commercial cans with bulging lids should be returned unopened to the vendor.
Could botulinum toxin be used for bioterrorism?
Yes. Botulinum toxin is one of the agents that could be used for bioterrorism because it is easy to obtain and transport, and people who get sick from botulinum toxin would require long-term care.
Additional information may be obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at
www.cdc.gov.
Posted 6/23/04 |
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