Food Poisoning (cont.)
How Is Botulism Diagnosed and
Treated?
Diagnosis is made by the presence of appropriate symptoms of nerve weakness and by laboratory tests that detect the toxin or by culture of C. botulinum from the person's stool.
The respiratory failure (inability to breathe) and paralysis that occur with severe botulism may require intensive medical and nursing care in a hospital.
If diagnosed in its early stages, foodborne botulism can be treated with an antitoxin medication.
Your doctor may also try to remove any contaminated food left in the digestive system by inducing vomiting or by using enemas.
Infants infected with the bacteria require hospitalization and possibly care in an intensive care unit. The botulism antitoxin is not recommended for infants.
How Can Botulism Be Prevented?
Although there are very few cases of botulism poisoning each year, prevention is extremely important. According to the CDC, foodborne botulism has often been linked to home-canned foods with a low acid content. These foods include asparagus, green beans, beets, and corn. People have also become infected from other sources including chopped garlic in oil, chili peppers, tomatoes, improperly handled baked potatoes cooked in aluminum foil, and home-canned or fermented fish (such as sardines).
Persons who can their own food should follow strict canning procedures to reduce contamination of foods.
Honey should not be given to children younger than 12 months of age, as it can contain spores of C. botulinum and is known to cause infant botulism.
Reviewed by The Cleveland Clinic Department of Gastroenterology
SOURCE: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Reviewed by Venkat Mohan, MD on September 13, 2008
Portions of this page © The Cleveland Clinic 2008
Last Editorial Review: 11/18/2008
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