** Botulism ** Clostridium Botulinum

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Botulism Clostridium Botulinum
By Ryan Olds
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What is Botulism?

• Botulism is a rare violent form of food poisoning
  caused by the bacterium Clostridium Botulinum
• C. Botulinum Grows in food and produces a deadly
  neurotoxin protein botulinum toxin. The toxin,
  Botulinum, is so potent that one gram can kill
  over a million people on earth.
• The organism, Clostridium botulinum, is an
  anaerobic, spore-forming, gram-positive rod found
  in moisture rich , low acidic environemts

http//www.wnysmart.org/botulism20micro.jpg
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History

• Botulism is older than recorded history
• The first outbreak of botulism occurred in 1793
  in Wildbad, Germany when several people became
  very ill after sharing a meal of blood sausages
• Justinus Kerner experimented on himself by
  injecting sausage fluid into his own body
• sausages in larger casings were more poisonous
• sausages containing air pockets were not
  poisonous
• boiled sausages only became poisonous
• Kerner published his finding and the disease was
  known as Kerners Disease for sometime

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ing.jpg
http//www.guenther-emig.de/kerner/kerner.jpg
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History

• Outbreak in Ellezelles, Begium in 1895 resulted
  in 34 people becoming ill and the death of 3
  people after consumption of ham
• Incident was studied by Belgian bacteriologist
  Emile Pierre-Marie van Ermengem
• He tested the spoiled ham on many animals
• discovered the bacterium Clostridium Botulinum
  (sausage in Latin)
• Introduced the name Botulism
• Proved bacterium was anaerobic
• Also proved the bacterium went through the
  process of sporulation

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How Clostridium Botulinum Works in the body

• Botulinum toxin is a colourless, odorless, and
  tasteless protein that digestive enzymes cannot
  break down
• Toxin travels through lining of the digestive
  system and is absorbed into the bloodstream. It
  then travels through the bloodstream to places
  where nerve endings meet muscle cells
• Paralysis will occur when the blockage of a
  chemical called acetylcholine
• Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter that is
  released at the junction between neurons and
  skeletal muscle fibers.
• Paralysis starts with the eyes and continues
  throat, chest, arms and legs

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ng/original_presentations/rpaulseth100200.html
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Classification of Botulinum Toxin

• Classified into seven types ranging from A - G
• Types A-F mainly affect human beings (forms of C.
  Botulinum)
• Types C D affect wild birds, poultry, cattle,
  and even turtles and some types of fish
• Type A and B are the leading causes of Botulism
  and type A is the deadliest of them all.
• However Botulism itself is Classified into three
  main kinds Food-borne, wound and infant

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Food-borne Botulism

• Most common form of botulism
• The main reason for food-borne botulism is the
  digestion of contaminated foods
• Home canning of foods is a major problem
  involving food-borne botulism.
• The toxin will not give food a bad odor or taste

http//www.andreasrecipes.com/photos/Home_canning.
jpg
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Wound Botulism

• Rarest form of botulism
• Caused by toxin produced from a wound infected
  with Clostridium botulinum
• Spores contact a open wound and are able to
  reproduce
• Outbreaks involving Black Tar Heroin (BTH) Users
• have been reported
• The mixing of chemicals to produce the heroin
  increase the chance
• of contamination by C. Botulinum spores

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ism/botu3.jpg
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Infant Botulism

• Very rare fewer than 100 cases reported in the US
  each year
• Caused by consumption of spores of the botulism
  bacteria
• Bacteria usually develops in the intestinal
  regions of infants
• Affects babies who are between 3 weeks and 6
  months old
• Honey is a known source of the bacteria spores

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estines.jpg
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Symptoms

• COMMON
• Difficulty swallowing
• Paralysis
• Nausea/vomiting
• Abdominal cramps
• Dry mouth
• Double /Blurred vision
• Respiratory failure
• Drooping eyelids
• Severe diarhea
• No fever

• Infants
• Constipation
• Weakness/ loss muscle tone
• Weak cry
• Poor feeding/week suction
• Respiratory stress

Symptoms appear/occur 8 36 hours after
consumption
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Diagnosis

• Symptoms may not be the first step to diagnosis
• Diseases such as Guillain-Barre syndrome, stroke,
  and myasthenia gravis have similar symptoms
• Tests include
• Brain Scan
• Spinal Fluid examination
• Nerve conduction test (electromyography )
• Blood samples
• tensilon test (exclude the Guillain-Bare
  syndrome)
• Sample of patients stool or serum may be injected
  into mice
• Physicians can examine the type of toxin
• Antibiotics can be prescribed to patient
• Testing of patients undigested food for toxin

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f
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Treatment

• If Botulism is found at an early stage, antitoxin
  will be given to patients immediately
• Ventilator may be required after respiratory
  failure and paralysis have developed (long term
  effect)
• Physicians may remove contaminated food by mean
  or vomiting or enemas
• Wound botulism is usually surgically removed or
  cleaned
• Antitoxins are not usually given to infants
  suffering from botulism

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BIOLOGICAL WARFARE

• Since the Botulinum toxin is so potent it has
  been manufactured by many countries during war
  times.
• Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein stored 10 000
  liters of it , planning to place it on missiles
• Other cases of the production of the toxin were
  reported during WWII. The United Stated
  manufactured the toxin fearing the Germans might
  be doing the same thing
• The production of the toxin in the US stopped in
  1972 by the Biological and Toxin Weapons
  Convention. However, Iraq and Soviet Union
  continued research and production

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BOTOX
http//www.themedicalspas.com/medspa_images/img_bo
tox.gif

• Injections of Type A toxin
• Prevents extra contractions by muscle but also
  leaves muscle with normal use
• Helps many people suffering from cerebral palsy,
  people unable to swallow food, and people unable
  to use their bladders
• Has given stroke victims the use of their body if
  paralysis has occurred

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xZ.jpg
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Future Outlook

• Even with todays medical advances botulism is
  still a dangerous and deadly disease. However,
  people who are infected with botulism are much
  less likely to die, then a few decades ago. The
  death rate has dropped from 50 to about 8.
• Advances in Mouse bioassay
• Injected into mice and mice will develop symptoms
• Injections of anti-BoNT in mice and results
  recorded
• Molecular approaches involve a oral vaccination
• Will be given manually
• Botulism gene may be modified to alter its
  toxicity without interrupting its penetrability,
  specificity, or immunogenicity

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Reference Page

• Badshah, Cyrus. Botulism. lthttp//www.nlm.nih.go
  v/medlineplus/ency/article/000598.htmlgt
• ______. Botulism. lthttp//www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbm
  d/diseaseinfo/botulism_g.htmgt
• (Wednsday, April 4, 2007).
• Cavendish, Marshall. Botulism. Encyclopedia of
  Family Health.
• Vol. 2, 261
• Grifith, Winter.H. Botulism. lthttp//www.mdadvic
  e.com/library/symp/illness51.htmlgt
• (Wednsday, Febuary 28, 2007).
• Rosaler, Maxine. Botulism. New York The Rosen
  Publishing Group, Inc, 2004.
• S, Mohanty, B, Dhawan, R, Chaudhry. Botulism
  An Update lt http//ijmm.org/article.asp?issn0255
  -0857year2001volume19issue2spage35,epage43
  aulastMohanty follow link http//www.ijmm.org/t
  ext.asp?2001/19/2/35/6922 gt
• (Thursday, April 5, 2007).