Botulism is a rare but serious paralytic disease caused by botulinum toxin found in contaminated food. It can be fatal if left untreated and is treated with antitoxin. The disease can be prevented by following food safety guidelines and discarding suspicious foods.
Botulism is a type of paralytic disease often caused by eating contaminated food. The disease can be fatal if left untreated and at the very least can cause severe symptoms that require weeks or months to recover. Fortunately, botulism is relatively rare; in the United States, for example, about 100 cases of the disease are reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention each year.
Humans have struggled with botulism for centuries, as the writings of ancient Greece and Rome suggest. In the 1700s, German doctors finally linked the problem to bad food, and by 1824 the disease had been named “botulism” after the Latin word botulus for “sausage.” Poorly seasoned sausages were among the leading causes of botulism, as the name of the disease reflects. By 1895, scientists had isolated the bacteria responsible for botulism, a major step in disease prevention and control.
The disease is caused by botulinum toxin, secreted by bacteria of the genus Clostridium. The toxin interferes with the central nervous system, causing distorted vision, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, breathing difficulties, muscle weakness and permanent paralysis. The disease can only be treated with an antitoxin, which will prevent the botulinum toxin from binding to the patient’s cells. Problems such as systemic infection related to botulism can be treated with antibiotics, while a ventilator can be used in patients with breathing difficulties until the patient recovers.
The ideal place for the proliferation of the toxin is a low acid and anaerobic environment such as the one found in canned foods. If the environment becomes hostile to the bacteria, they may go dormant until favorable conditions are present again. The most common type of botulism is infant botulism, an infection in young children who are particularly susceptible to botulism spores in the air and soil. Adults can also get botulism from contaminated foods, especially homemade canned goods, and a very small number of cases are caused by bacterial colonization of flesh wounds.
This form of food poisoning is not entirely preventable, but there are some steps that can reduce the risk of botulism. Foods should always be handled and stored in accordance with food safety guidelines, and people should discard foods that appear to be suspicious. In the case of canned foods and preserves, if the container is dented or swollen, the food should be thrown away. Rare cases of botulism have been caused by things like herb olive oils, preserved fish, and mishandled baked potatoes, so consumers should handle these foods with care. Babies should not be given honey, as it is known to contain botulism spores.
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