Encyclopedia of Health and Medicine

312 Infectious Diseases
ronment, they are harmful to human health, and
the IMMUNE SYSTEM establishes mechanisms to stop,
contain, or attack them should they enter the
body. Bacteria can cause infection and illness by
destroying the cells they invade or by releasing
toxins. ANTIBIOTIC MEDICATIONS treat bacterial infections.
Traditional classification systems view bacteria
according to their physical (morphologic) characteristics
because these are the traits perceptible
with the use of a microscope, the first tool available
for viewing microbes. These characteristics
provide basic information about the particular
bacterial family that is important to doctors when
choosing antibiotic medications to treat bacterial
infections. Methods made available through
advances in molecular medicine during the latter
years of the 20th century, such as ribosomal
analysis and DNA sequencing, allow improved
understanding of how bacteria function both to
support health and to cause illness.
ILLNESSES CAUSED BY BACTERIAL INFECTION
ABSCESS
APPENDICITIS
BOTULISM
CHLAMYDIA
COLD SORE
DIPHTHERIA
FOLLICULITIS
GONORRHEA
INFECTIOUS ARTHRITIS
LISTERIOSIS
MASTOIDITIS
ORBITAL CELLULITIS
PERICARDITIS
PNEUMOCOCCAL PNEUMONIA
ROCKY MOUNTAIN SPOTTED FEVER
SEPTICEMIA
STREP THROAT
SYPHILIS
TYPHOID FEVER
ANTHRAX
bacterial MENINGITIS
CAMPYLOBACTERIOSIS
CHOLERA
CONJUNCTIVITIS
EPIGLOTTITIS
FURUNCLE
HERPES ZOSTER
LEGIONNAIRES’ DISEASE
LYME DISEASE
NECROTIZING FASCIITIS
OSTEOMYELITIS
PERITONSILLAR ABSCESS
RHEUMATIC HEART DISEASE
SCARLET FEVER
STAPHYLOCOCCAL SCALDED
SKIN SYNDROME
TUBERCULOSIS
See also CELL STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION; CHILDHOOD
DISEASES; ESCHERICHIA COLI INFECTION; NUTRITIONAL
THERAPY; PATHOGEN.
botulism A potentially life-threatening illness
resulting from INFECTION with the anaerobic bacterium
Clostridium botulinum. The BACTERIA are naturally
present in soil, where they encase themselves
in spores. In the body, the bacteria release a
toxin that blocks the release of acetylcholine, a
NEUROTRANSMITTER that facilitates NERVE impulses
from neurons to MUSCLE cells, causing PARALYSIS
that may range in severity from mild to lifethreatening.
There are three types of botulism:
• Foodborne botulism results from eating
improperly canned or cooked foods contaminated
with C. botulinum spores. Because the
bacteria are anaerobic, they thrive in the relatively
oxygen-free environment of canned, bottled,
or otherwise contained foods. Foodborne
botulism most commonly causes gastrointestinal
symptoms such as abdominal cramping and
DIARRHEA, though can cause systemic symptoms
that may include paralysis of the chest muscles.
• Wound botulism develops in traumatic injury
wounds that close over after the injury, trapping
bacteria within them. Usually the injury
involves some sort of contact with soil. This
type of botulism can result in the infection
commonly called gas GANGRENE. Often treatment
requires surgery to open and clean the
wound, removing damaged and dead tissue,
along with administration of intravenous
ANTIBIOTIC MEDICATIONS.
• Infant botulism occurs in children under age
one year whose gastrointestinal tracts are not
fully developed. The most common source of C.
botulinum that causes infant botulism is unpasteurized
honey. In an older child or adult the
NORMAL FLORA and environment of the gastrointestinal
tract would neutralize the few C. botulinum
spores honey typically contains, but the
infant’s system lacks the maturity to do this.
Symptoms and Diagnostic Path
Symptoms begin 2 to 10 days after exposure. Early
neurologic symptoms include vision disturbances,
difficulty swallowing and speaking, and drooping
eyelids (PTOSIS). As the infection progresses, paralysis
may develop throughout the body. In foodborne
botulism symptoms also include NAUSEA, VOMITING,
and diarrhea. In wound botulism, there may also
be PAIN and swelling at the wound site though usually
the wound appears normal.