Botulism (cont.)
What are complications from botulism?
Botulism can
result in death from respiratory failure. However, in the past 50
years, the proportion of deaths from botulism has fallen from about
60% to 8%. Unfortunately, to survive, a patient with severe botulism may require not only a
breathing machine but also intensive medical and nursing care for
several months.
Patients who survive an episode of botulism poisoning may
experience fatigue and shortness of breath for years, and long-term
therapy may be needed to aid recovery.
Can botulism be prevented?
Yes. Food-borne botulism has often come from improperly prepared home-canned foods such as asparagus, green beans, beets, and corn. However, there have been outbreaks of botulism from more unusual sources such as chopped garlic in oil, chili peppers, tomatoes, improperly handled baked potatoes wrapped in aluminum foil, and home-canned or fermented fish. People who do home canning should follow strict hygienic procedures to prevent or kill
Clostridium bacteria, their spores, and neutralize its neurotoxin. Oils that are infused with garlic or herbs should be refrigerated. Potatoes that have been baked while wrapped in aluminum foil should be kept hot until served or refrigerated. Because botulism neurotoxin is destroyed by high temperatures (85 degrees C for
five minutes), people who eat home-canned foods should consider boiling the food for 10 minutes before eating it to help ensure that the food is safe to consume. Bulging cans or abnormal-smelling preserved foods should be discarded. Do not taste-test them or attempt to boil the food!
Because honey can contain spores of Clostridium botulinum
and this has been a source of infection for
infants, children less than 12 months old should not be fed honey.
Honey is relatively safe for people 1 year of age and older.
Wound
botulism can be prevented by promptly seeking medical care for
infected wounds and avoiding injectable street drugs.
Vaccine development for the major human types of botulism neurotoxin is currently being investigated.
Next: Is botulism neurotoxin really considered to be a potential biological weapon? »
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