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What is botulism?

UC Davis Children's Hospital: Infectious diseases ?- Frequen...
Botulism is a form of potentially serious poisoning that can be contracted by swallowing or through open wounds. It is caused by a bacterium that occurs in soil, untreated water, and improperly preserved food, such as home-canned vegetables, honey, corn syrup, cured pork, or smoked or raw fish. Symptoms include weakness, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, double vision and even paralysis. Infants are susceptible to a strain of botulism that survives in honey or corn syrup.
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Botulism FAQ
Botulism is a rare but serious paralytic illness caused by a toxin that are made by a bacterium, Clostridium botulinum that may be found in soil Foodborne botulism is caused by ingestion of botulinum toxin, often from home-canned or improperly cooked foods Other forms of botulism include wound botulism that results from contamination of a wound with botulinum-toxin producing bacteria, and infant botulism that results from growth in the infant's intestine of toxin-producing C. botulinum.
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Disease Listing, Botulism, General Information | CDC Bacteri...
Botulism is a rare but serious paralytic illness caused by a nerve toxin that is produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. There are three main kinds of botulism. Foodborne botulism is caused by eating foods that contain the botulism toxin. Wound botulism is caused by toxin produced from a wound infected with Clostridium botulinum. Infant botulism is caused by consuming the spores of the botulinum bacteria, which then grow in the intestines and release toxin.
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City of Austin - Health Department - Bioterrorism
Botulism is a muscle-paralyzing disease caused by a toxin made by a bacterium called Clostridium botulinum. Foodborne botulism occurs when a person ingests pre-formed toxin that leads to illness within a few hours to days. Foodborne botulism is a public health emergency because the contaminated food may still be available to other persons besides the patient. Infant botulism occurs in a small number of susceptible infants each year who harbor C. botulinum in their intestinal tract.
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What are the signs or symptoms of botulism?

Clostridium Botulinum Outbreak FAQs | CDC Botulism
Signs and symptoms of botulism include new onset of double vision, blurred vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing, or muscle weakness. Symptoms generally begin 18 to 36 hours after eating a contaminated food, but they can occur as early as 6 hours or as late as 10 days. If untreated, the illness may progress from head to toe, with paralysis of the face, arms, breathing muscles, trunk, and legs. Botulism can result in death.
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WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF AVIAN BOTULISM?

Avian botulism is a neuroparalytic disease, which results in paralysis of the muscular and nervous systems necessary for survival. As the poison spreads, birds lose control of their legs, wings, eyelids, and neck (Avian botulism is often called "limberneck" which accurately describes the posture of an infected bird). Other internal systems are affected as well. The intestinal tract, the heart, and the system which regulates body functions are all compromised.
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Did people get botulism from eating chili sauce?

Clostridium Botulinum Outbreak FAQs | CDC Botulism
Yes. As of July 22, 2007, four cases of botulism have been reported to CDC. All four persons (2 cases in Indiana and 2 cases in Texas) consumed Castleberry's brand Hot Dog Chili Sauce the day before the illness began. Botulinum toxin was identified in leftover chili sauce collected from a patient's home. Botulinum toxin was also identified in unopened cans of chili sauce.
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How is botulism diagnosed?

Botulism FAQs
Physicians may consider the diagnosis if the patient's history and physical examination suggest botulism. However, these clues are usually not enough to allow a diagnosis of botulism. Other diseases such as Guillain-Barr?? syndrome, stroke, and myasthenia gravis can appear similar to botulism, and special tests may be needed to exclude these other conditions.
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How can botulism be treated?

Botulism FAQs
The respiratory failure and paralysis that occur with severe botulism may require a patient to be on a breathing machine (ventilator) for weeks, plus intensive medical and nursing care. After several weeks, the paralysis slowly improves. If diagnosed early, foodborne and wound botulism can be treated with an antitoxin which blocks the action of toxin circulating in the blood. This can prevent patients from worsening, but recovery still takes many weeks.
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How can botulism be prevented?

Botulism FAQ
C. botulinum and botulinum toxin are destroyed by cooking foods so that the internal temperature is 100 degrees Centigrade (212 degrees Fahrenheit) for 10 minutes. The internal temperature of foods should be verified with a cooking thermometer. For water, this will be accomplished by vigorous rolling boil (large buble rapidly rising from the bottom of the pot) for ten minutes.
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How common is botulism?

Disease Listing, Botulism, General Information | CDC Bacteri...
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 the rest are wound botulism. Outbreaks of foodborne botulism involving two or more persons occur most years and usually caused by eating contaminated home-canned foods.
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What are the symptoms of botulism?

Disease Listing, Botulism, General Information | CDC Bacteri...
The classic symptoms of botulism include double vision, blurred vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing, dry mouth, and muscle weakness. Infants with botulism appear lethargic, feed poorly, are constipated, and have a weak cry and poor muscle tone. These are all symptoms of the muscle paralysis caused by the bacterial toxin. If untreated, these symptoms may progress to cause paralysis of the arms, legs, trunk and respiratory muscles.
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Are there complications from botulism?

Disease Listing, Botulism, General Information | CDC Bacteri...
Botulism can result in death due to respiratory failure. However, in the past 50 years the proportion of patients with botulism who die has fallen from about 50% to 8%. A patient with severe botulism may require a breathing machine as well as intensive medical and nursing care for several months. Patients who survive an episode of botulism poisoning may have fatigue and shortness of breath for years and long-term therapy may be needed to aid recovery.
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What is infant botulism?

Welcome to the Infant Botulism Treatment and Prevention Prog...
Infant botulism is the infectious (intestinal) form of botulism, which results when swallowed spores of a particular bacterium (Clostridium botulinum) colonize the baby's large intestine and produce botulinum toxin in it. Botulinum toxin causes weakness and loss of muscle tone because it blocks the nerve ending's ability to signal the linked muscle to contract.
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WHAT CAUSED THE AVIAN BOTULISM OUTBREAK?

The pelicans were affected with avian botulism, a neuroparalytic disease of wild birds, which results from "food poisoning" by a neurotoxin produced predominantly by the bacterium Clostridium botulinurn type C. It is well known that botulism producing bacteria live dormant in the muck on the sea's bottom and normally do not pose a health risk, yet in the Summer of 1996, a number of unusual conditions combined at the Salton Sea to create the avian botulism epidemic.
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WHAT ARE THE SIGNS OF RECOVERY FROM AVIAN BOTULISM?

Before release plans were made, pelican patients were evaluated for full functioning in many areas including:
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CAN I GET BOTULISM FROM AN INJECTION?

Nevada Reno Spa Services|Botox Information|Botox FAQ
The amount of Botox given during a typical cosmetic injection is too small to give a healthy patient a botulism-like illness.
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Is BOTOX® the same as botulism?

FAQs - Derm Aesthetics and Laser Center - Anthony Caglia MD ...
No. BOTOX® injections contain a minuscule amount of the chemical secreted by the botulism bacteria. There is no bacteria in the BOTOX® injection. It does not give you an infection.
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HOW MANY PELICANS WERE AFFECTED BY THE AVIAN BOTULISM CRISIS?

The outbreak was discovered on August 15, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service estimated that as many as 13,844 birds from 61 species had died during the first two months of the outbreak. The population of the endangered Brown Pelican - which had begun to make a comeback after the chemical pesticide DDT was outlawed in the 70s - was seriously compromised. Before the outbreak, between 5,000 and 6,000 breeding pairs of Brown Pelicans lived in California.
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WHERE WERE THE PELICANS THAT RECOVERED FROM AVIAN BOTULISM RELEASED?

Recovered American White Pelicans - usually in groups of 15 or 16 were transported directly from the Pacific Wildlife Facility to a release site along the Southern California coast, and all have been released. Due to their endangered status, the Brown Pelicans continued their recovery at the Irvine Animal Care Facility ("Peli Hall") under the care of Pacific Wildlife Project volunteers.
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WHERE DID THE PELICANS THAT RECOVERED FROM AVIAN BOTULISM GO AFTER RELEASE?

Healthy pelicans are social, gregarious birds who have been known to fly up to 100 miles a day. After release, it is expected that the rehabilitated birds will join existing flocks along the Southern California coast. This is a myth that is not true. That is just like saying if you swallow a meal worm, will it be able to eat away at your stomach? You would probably say that it would not happen.
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Q.    Why aren't antibiotics effective with botulism food poisoning?

MBI 111 FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
A.    In cases of botulism food poisoning, there is no infection, so there is nothing for the antibiotic to kill. The disease is caused by ingesting a microbial poison (toxin).
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Can I get botulism or food poisoning from Botox?

Prescription Skin Care - Remuera, Auckland, New Zealand
I have a thin top lip and would love to have a treatment to plump my lips, however I am put off by the thought of how painful it must be …
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