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Clostridium botulinum (Botulism)
Book chapter

Clostridium botulinum (Botulism)

Stephen S. Arnon and Sarah S. Long
Principles and Practice of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, pp 1017-1024
2023

Abstract

Botulism is a neuroparalytic disease of humans and other animals caused by the action of a heat-labile neurotoxin produced almost exclusively by Clostridium botulinum. Botulism is categorized by modes of acquisition: (1) infant botulism, which results from intestinal colonization, outgrowth, replication, and toxin elaboration after the ingestion of spores; (2) foodborne botulism, which results from the ingestion of preformed toxin elaborated in food that was naturally contaminated with spores and improperly preserved; and (3) other, which includes wound botulism resulting from contamination of wounds with spores, outgrowth, and toxin elaboration; adult intestinal toxemia botulism, resulting from intestinal colonization and in vivo toxin production, usually in the context of abdominal surgical procedures, gastrointestinal tract abnormalities, and recent antibiotic treatment; and accidental botulism resulting from high-dose injection of toxin for treatment of muscular movement disorders or injection of an unlicensed product for cosmetic purposes. [1st paragraph]

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