Botulism
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What is botulism?
Botulism is a rare but serious illness. Each year, U.S. health care providers report an average of 110 cases of food, infant, and wound botulism to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). About 10 to 30 outbreaks of foodborne botulism are reported annually. Although this illness does not occur frequently, it can be fatal if not treated quickly and properly. This fact sheet will focus on botulism caused by eating contaminated food.
Infectious diseases spread through food or beverages are a common, distressing, and sometimes life-threatening problem for millions of people in the United States and around the world. CDC estimates 76 million people suffer foodborne illnesses each year in the United States, accounting for 325,000 hospitalizations and more than 5,000 deaths.
Foodborne disease is extremely costly. Health experts estimate that the yearly cost of all foodborne diseases in this country is 5 to 6 billion dollars in direct medical expenses and lost productivity.
There are more than 250 known foodborne diseases. They can be caused by bacteria, viruses, or parasites. Natural and manufactured chemicals in food products also can make people sick. Some diseases are caused by toxins (poisons) from the disease-causing microbe (germ), others by the human body's reactions to the microbe itself.
To better understand the epidemiology (study of disease origin and spread) of foodborne diseases in the United States, 10 states across the country are collecting annual data on the occurrence of new cases of the most common causes of bacterial and parasitic infections through the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network, a CDC-sponsored program known as FoodNet (www.cdc.gov/foodnet).
Recently, public health, agriculture, and environmental officials have expressed growing concern about keeping the nation's food and water supply safe from terrorist acts. A number of U.S. agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, CDC, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Department of Agriculture, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, are studying this bioterrorism threat.
What causes botulism?
Botulism is caused by toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum bacteria. This toxin affects your nerves and, if untreated, can cause paralysis and respiratory failure. C. botulinum toxin is one of the most powerful toxins known in nature. Exposure to the toxin, particularly in an aerosolized (spray) form, can be fatal. C. botulinum has been made into weapons by rogue states and is a focus of current efforts to counter bioterrorism.
How is botulism transmitted?
Often, cases of foodborne botulism come from home-canned foods with low acid content, such as asparagus, green beans, beets, and corn. C. botulinum is anaerobic, which means it can survive and grow with little or no oxygen. Therefore, it can live very well in sealed containers. Outbreaks of the infection, however, are often from more unusual sources such as chili peppers, tomatoes, and improperly handled baked potatoes wrapped in aluminum foil.
What are the symptoms of botulism?
* Double vision and drooping eyelids
* Slurred speech
* Dry mouth and difficulty swallowing
* Weak muscles
Symptoms of foodborne botulism usually begin within 18 to 36 hours after you eat contaminated food, but can occur in as few as 6 hours or as much as 10 days afterward.
How is botulism diagnosed?
A health care provider can use laboratory tests to identify C. botulinum toxin in your blood or stool if you are infected.
What are botulism treatment options?
If you are diagnosed early, your health care provider can treat foodborne botulism successfully with an antitoxin that blocks the action of the bacterial toxin circulating in your blood. Although antitoxin keeps the disease from becoming worse, it will still take many weeks before you recover. Your health care provider may try to remove any contaminated food still in your gut by making you vomit or by giving you an enema.
How do you prevent botulism?
* Follow strict hygienic steps when home canning.
* Refrigerate oils containing garlic or herbs.
* Keep baked potatoes wrapped in aluminum foil either hot until served or refrigerated.
* Consider boiling home-canned food before eating it to kill any bacteria lurking in the food.
What are the complications of botulism?
If left untreated, this illness can cause paralysis of the arms, legs, trunk, and the muscles that help you breathe. The paralysis usually improves slowly over several weeks. People who develop severe botulism experience breathing failure and paralysis and need to be put on ventilators (breathing machines).
Source: National Institutes of Health
Study findings on clostridium are outlined in reports from University of Helsinki, Medical Department
2009 JUN 2 - (NewsRx.com) -- "Comparative genomic hybridization analysis of 32 Nordic group I Clostridium botulinum type B strains isolated from various sources revealed two homogeneous clusters, clusters BI and BII. The type B strains differed from reference strain ATCC 3502 by 413 coding sequence (CDS) probes, sharing 88% of all the ATCC 3502 genes represented on the microarray," investigators in Helsinki, Finland report. "The two Nordic type B clusters differed from each other by their response to 145 CDS probes related mainly to transport and binding, adaptive mechanisms, fatty acid biosynthesis, the cell membranes, bacteriophages, and transposon-related elements. The most prominent differences between the two clusters were related to resistance to toxic compounds frequently found in the environment, such as arsenic and cadmium, reflecting different adaptive responses in the evolution of the two clusters. Other relatively variable CDS groups were related to surface structures and the gram-positive cell wall, suggesting that the two clusters possess different antigenic properties. All the type B strains carried CDSs putatively related to capsule formation, which may play a role in adaptation to different environmental and clinical niches. Sequencing showed that representative strains of the two type B clusters both carried subtype B2 neurotoxin genes. As many of the type B strains studied have been isolated from foods or associated with botulism, it is expected that the two group I C. botulinum type B clusters present a public health hazard in Nordic countries," wrote M. Lindstrom and colleagues, University of Helsinki, Medical Department. The researchers concluded: "Knowing the genetic and physiological markers of these clusters will assist in targeting control measures against these pathogens." Lindstrom and colleagues published their study in Applied and Environmental Microbiology (Comparative Genomic Hybridization Analysis of Two Predominant Nordic Group I (Proteolytic) Clostridium botulinum Type B Clusters. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 2009;75(9):2643-2651). For additional information, contact M. Lindstrom, University of Helsinki, Faculty Vet. Medical, Dept. of Food & Environmental Hyg, POB 66, FIN-00014 Helsinki, Finland. The publisher of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology can be contacted at: American Society Microbiology, 1752 N St. NW, Washington, DC 20036-2904, USA. Keywords: Finland, Helsinki, Botulism, Clostridium, University of Helsinki, Medical Department. This article was prepared by Health Risk Factor Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2009, Health Risk Factor Week via NewsRx.com.
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