Botulism

Botulism

Botulism - Botulism is caused by the exotoxin of Clostridium botulinum, an anaerobic spore-forming rod. It is one of the most potent exotoxins known to man. Botulism is a neuroparalylic disease affecting humans and animals. Sixty to seventy percent of, cases are fatal. The foods frequently implicated are those which have been smoked, pickled, or canned, allowed to stand for a time and then eaten without cooking or with insufficient cooking.

This means that the preservative treatment is inadequate and has failed to destroy the spores of Clostridium botulinum. Most cases are associated with home canned vegetables, infected sausages, ham, preserved meats fowl, or fish.

These foods have the common property of being high in protein, near neutral in pH, and have little residual available oxygen, all of which are factors contributing to toxin production. Fortunately, the toxin is heat labile and is destroyed very quickly by boiling. Home canned food should always be heated at the boiling point for several minutes before use.

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