Botulinum Toxin

Botulinum toxin is a protein produced by the Clostridium Botulinum bacteria. A rare disease, it is not transmissible from person-to-person but through intoxication. Botulinum spores can germinate in anaerobic, or no oxygen, conditions causing the bacterium to grow and produce the toxin.

Types

• Three main kinds of botulism produce a botulinum toxin harmful to humans. Eating food contaminated with the toxin can cause foodborne botulism. Infant botulism occurs when the bacteria produces the toxin in an infant's intestine after eating infected food. Wound botulism arises from spores that get into an open wound and reproduce in an anaerobic environment, releasing toxin into the blood stream.

Symptoms

• The toxin, not the bacteria, causes symptoms that usually appear in 12 to 36 hours after exposure. Characteristic symptoms are fatigue, weakness, and vertigo followed by blurred vision, dry mouth and difficulty in swallowing and speaking. The disease can progress to muscle weakness that moves down the body, which can result in the paralysis of the lung muscles causing death.

Prevention

• You can prevent botulism from occurring through proper food preparation such as temperature control in cooking or practicing correct food preservation customs such as when canning. Avoid giving honey to children younger than 12 months of age to prevent infant botulism. Deter wound botulism by seeking medical care for infected wounds.

Treatment

• Treatments against the botulinum toxin include the timely administration of an antitoxin after diagnosis. Severe botulinum cases require supportive treatment through mechanical ventilation.