Botulism is caused by eating food contaminated with a naturally occurring bacterium, Clostridium botulinum. C. botulinum produces a potent neurotoxin that can have drastic effects on the body. Symptoms include double vision, dry mouth, difficulty swallowing, dilated pupils, drooping eyelids and slurred speech, followed by eventual paralysis.
Researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Republic of Georgia's National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) studied 706 cases of botulism in Georgia, which has the highest reported rate of foodborne botulism of any country. They discovered that the patients at highest risk of dying were those who reported to the hospital with shortness of breath and impaired gag reflex but lack of diarrhea. This constellation of symptoms, if validated in the United States and other countries as predictors of death, would allow doctors to give first consideration to patients who are at highest risk of dying in a botulism outbreak.
Botulism is exceedingly rare in the United States, so both patients and doctors need to be alert to the symptoms, according to lead author Dr. Jay Varma of the CDC. "Patients who have symptoms of botulism need to seek medical attention immediately," said Dr. Varma. However, since weakness and difficulty speaking or swallowing can also indicate a stroke, he said, "doctors need to recognize when patients have botulism, not a stroke, and then institute treatment quickly."
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Contact: Jeff Minerd
jminerd@idsociety.org
703-299-0412
Infectious Diseases Society of America
4-Aug-2004