Botulism

Excerpt

Botulism is a rare but potentially fatal syndrome of diffuse, flaccid paralysis caused by botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT), an exo neurotoxin elaborated by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. Since its recognition as a foodborne entity in Germany and Belgium in the 1800s, several other etiologies of botulism have been described, including wound botulism, iatrogenic botulism, and inhalational botulism. While the administration of polyvalent antitoxin to botulinum neurotoxin mitigates the clinical course of botulism, no true antidote exists, and management continues to rely on weeks of mechanical ventilation and other resource-heavy therapies while the body's neuromuscular signaling mechanisms recover. The most potent poison known to man, botulinum neurotoxin is relatively simple to produce, store, and disperse, and is thus a subject of intense interest for defense organizations around the world.