abstract book - Clostridia

ANIMAL BOTULINUM TOXICOSES: THE GERMAN EXPERIENCES
H. Böhnel 1 , F. Gessler 2
1 Institute for Tropical Animal Health, Georg-August-University,
Göttingen
2 Miprolab GmbH, Göttingen, Germany
Clostridium botulinum is known as an anaerobe bacterium, producing
spores and highly toxic metabolites (BoNT). Since about 100 years the
disease “botulism” is known. Every textbook features
• Intoxication, soil borne disease
• Sudden onset, muscular paralysis, final death due to
suffocation
• Different susceptibility of different animal species including man
In recent years there is evidence for an increasing number of cases of
infection in man and animals. Almost nothing is known on chronic
resorption/action of minute amounts on BoNT.
Following thousands of treated samples in our diagnostic laboratory we
report several features of C. botulinum infection in animals and man
• Visceral botulism in cattle and pigs
• Grass sickness in horses
• Sudden infant botulism
• BoNT and bovine mastitis
• BoNT and right abomasal displacement
• BoNT and tonsils
• BoNT and diabetes
• BoNT and decubitus
Vaccination of animals is a promising means of prevention. The
catastrophic situation to obtain vaccines as an example in Germany will
be explained.
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