Glossary of Medical and Health Terms
Botulism
Botulism (Latin, botulus, "sausage") is a rare, but serious paralytic illness caused by a toxin, botulin, that is produced by the bacteria Clostridium botulinum. Botulinic toxin is one of the most powerful known toxins: about one microgram is lethal to humans. It acts by blocking nerve function and leads to respiratory and musculoskeletal paralysis.
There are three main kinds of botulism:
- Infant botulism is caused by swallowing the spores of the botulinum bacteria, which then grow inside of the infant's intestines and release toxin.
- Foodborne botulism is caused by eating foods that contain the rare botulinum toxin.
- Wound botulism is caused by a nerve toxin produced from a wound infected with Clostridium botulinum. This is the rarest type of botulism. It is very difficult to obtain it this way.
All forms of botulism can be lethal and are always considered medical emergencies. Foodborne botulism can be extremely dangerous as a public health risk because multiple persons can consume the poison from a single contaminated food source.
In the United States an average of 110 cases of botulism are reported each year. Of these, approximately 25% are foodborne, 72% are infant botulism, and 3% are wound botulism.
Outbreaks of foodborne botulism involving two or more persons occur during most years and are usually caused by the consumption of home-canned foods. The number of cases of foodborne and infant botulism has changed little in recent years, but wound botulism has increased because of the use of black tar heroin, especially in California.
Associated ICD-10 code: A05.1.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botulism
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