Examples of botulism in the following topics:
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- Person-to-person transmission of botulism does not occur.
- The most common form in Western countries is infant botulism.
- The only drug currently available to treat infant botulism is Botulism Immune Globulin Intravenous-Human (BIG-IV or BabyBIG).
- A 14-year-old with botulism.
- Compare and contrast the three major modes of entry for Botulinium toxin (infant botulism or adult intestinal toxemia, foodborne botulism, and wound botulism) and describe its mechanism of action
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- Botulinum toxin can cause botulism, a serious and life-threatening illness in humans and animals.
- Foodborne botulism can be transmitted through food that has not been heated correctly prior to being canned, or food from a can that has not been cooked correctly.
- Most infant botulism cases cannot be prevented because the bacteria that cause this disease are in soil and dust.
- Honey can contain the bacteria that cause infant botulism, so children less than 12 months old should not be fed honey.
- By inhibiting acetylcholine release, the toxin interferes with nerve impulses and causes flaccid (sagging) paralysis of muscles in botulism, as opposed to the spastic paralysis seen in tetanus.
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- Other major causes are stroke, trauma with nerve injury, poliomyelitis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), botulism, spina bifida, multiple sclerosis, and Guillain-Barré syndrome.
- Ascending paralysis contrasts with descending paralysis, which occurs in conditions such as botulism.
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- In the past, sporadic cases of botulism, the potentially fatal disease produced by a toxin from the anaerobic bacterium Clostridium botulinum, were relatively common.