Encyclopedia of Health and Medicine

otulism 313
The diagnostic path includes a comprehensive
NEUROLOGIC EXAMINATION and testing for the presence
of C. botulinum in either a stool sample or
sample of the suspected food source.
Treatment Options and Outlook
Treatment in older children and adults is hospitalization
and prompt administration of trivalent
ABE ANTITOXIN to counter the effects of the toxin
the C. botulinum bacteria produce. Additional
treatment for wound botulism is intravenous
antibiotics, usually high doses of penicillin or clindamycin.
Treatment for infant botulism is the
antibiotic amoxicillin. With prompt and appropriate
treatment many people fully recover from botulism,
though some people have weakness,
paralysis, or other neurologic symptoms.
Risk Factors and Preventive Measures
C. botulinum spores are present in soil and thus can
contaminate vegetables and fruits. The risk for
infection occurs with improperly canned or
processed foods because the C. botulinum bacteria
thrive and vastly multiply in the anaerobic environment.
It is not possible to detect their presence
by the appearance, smell, or taste of the contaminated
food, though often the can or jar lid bulges.
Home-canned foods are more commonly the
source of foodborne botulism. Infants under one
year should not eat honey or foods that contain
honey, as unpasteurized honey is a common
source of C. botulinum spores that are not a health
risk to adults but can cause illness in infants.
Wound botulism may develop even when the person
takes antibiotics because the broad-spectrum
antibiotics typically prescribed are not effective
against C. botulinum. Diligent cleansing of injuries
that have soil contamination reduces the risk for
wound botulism.
See also ANTIBIOTIC MEDICATIONS; BOTULINUM THER-
APY; FOODBORNE ILLNESSES; FOOD SAFETY; GUILLAIN-
BARRÉ SYNDROME; NEURON; WATERBORNE ILLNESSES.