wound botulism

Examples of wound botulism in the following topics:

• Botulism

  • The toxin enters the human body in one of three ways: by colonization of the digestive tract by the bacterium in children (infant botulism) or adults (adult intestinal toxemia), by ingestion of toxin from foods (foodborne botulism), or by contamination of a wound by the bacterium (wound botulism).
  • Wound botulism results from the contamination of a wound with the bacteria, which then secrete the toxin into the bloodstream.
  • There are two primary Botulinum Antitoxins available for treatment of wound and foodborne botulism.
  • 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

• Paralysis-Causing Bacterial Neurotoxins

  • 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.

• Colonization and Growth

  • They thus have a symbiotic relationship with the host, preventing infection and speeding wound healing.
  • Entrance to the host generally occurs through the mucosa in orifices like the oral cavity, nose, eyes, genitalia, anus, or open wounds.
  • Wound colonization refers to nonreplicating microorganisms within the wound, while in infected wounds replicating organisms exist and tissue is injured.
  • They thus have a symbiotic relationship with the host, preventing infection and speeding wound healing.

• Tetanus

  • Infection generally occurs through wound contamination and often involves a cut or deep puncture wound.
  • C. tetani is not invasive, and the infection is normally confined to a wound.
  • The rough surface of rusty metal merely provides a prime habitat for a C. tetani endospore to reside, and the nail affords a means to puncture skin and deliver endospore into the wound.
  • Diagnosis does not depend upon isolation of the bacteria, which is recovered from the wound in only 30% of cases and can be isolated from patients without tetanus.
  • The booster may not prevent a potentially fatal case of tetanus from the current wound as it can take up to two weeks for tetanus antibodies to form.

• Factors that Affect Germicidal Activity of Chemicals

  • A triarylmethane dye still widely used as 1% ethanol solution in Eastern Europe and ex-USSR countries for treatment of small wounds and abscesses.
  • Hydrogen peroxide: Used as a 6% (20 Vols) solution to clean and deodorize wounds and ulcers.
  • However, even this less potent form is no longer recommended for typical wound care because the strong oxidization causes scar formation and increases healing time.
  • Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a medical device for use in wounds and burns.
  • Antimicrobial compound suitable for clinical use in critically colonized or infected acute and chronic wounds.

• Chagas Disease (American Trypanosomiasis)

  • These parasites surround the bite wound and, when the bite is scratched, the parasites are able to pass into the host.
  • Triatomines pass T. cruzi parasites (called trypomastigotes) in feces left near the site of the bite wound.
  • The most recognized marker of acute Chagas disease is called Romaña's sign, which includes swelling of the eyelids on the side of the face near the bite wound or where the bug feces were deposited or accidentally rubbed into the eye.

• Origins of Antimicrobial Drugs

  • Patients with infected wounds often had to have a wounded limb removed, or face death from infection.

• Noncholera Vibrios

  • Patients with noncholera Vibrio wound infection or septicemia are much more ill and frequently have other medical conditions.
  • Medical therapy consists of the following: prompt initiation of effective antibiotic therapy (doxycycline or a quinolone), intensive medical therapy with aggressive fluid replacement, vasopressors for hypotension and septic shock, early fasciotomy within 24 hours after development of clinical symptoms in patients with necrotizing fasciitis, early debridement of the infected wound, expeditious and serial surgical evaluation and intervention to prevent rapid deterioration, especially in patients with necrotizing fasciitis or compartment syndrome.

• Synthetic Antimicrobial Drugs

  • Patients with infected wounds often had to have a wounded limb removed, or face death from infection.

• Anthrax

  • It has been hypothesized that the vegetation may cause wounds within the gastrointestinal tract, permitting entry of the bacterial endospores into the tissues.
  • Once ingested or placed in an open wound, the bacterium begins multiplying inside the animal or human and typically kills the host within a few days or weeks.