Botulinum poisoning: here's how it develops. Symptoms and treatments

Botulism is a serious but rare disease that can lead to death if left untreated. It is not caused by the bacterium itself, but by the neurotoxin it produces. Clostridium botulinum is an anaerobic bacterium, meaning it grows in oxygen-free environments. It exists in several forms, but the ones that primarily affect humans are foodborne botulism, infant botulism, and wound botulism.

How it develops

Botulism develops when the spores of the bacterium, which are resistant and commonly found in soil and other environments, find an ideal environment to germinate and produce the toxin. Favorable conditions include an oxygen-free, low-acid environment, such as that created by improperly canned food . Canned vegetables, cured meats, and fish, if not sufficiently sterilized, are the most common vehicles for the toxin. Once ingested, the toxin blocks communication between nerves and muscles, causing paralysis.

In infant botulism , spores are ingested by a child under one year of age (especially through honey) and germinate directly in the intestine, which is not yet mature enough to fight the bacteria. Wound botulism, on the other hand, occurs when spores contaminate a wound, providing ideal conditions for germination and toxin production.

Symptoms

Botulism symptoms can appear within hours to several days after exposure to the toxin. Typically, the first symptoms are neurological disorders, including:

• Difficulty seeing: double or blurred vision and drooping eyelids.
• Speech and swallowing problems: weak or slurred voice and difficulty swallowing.
• Dry mouth and generalized muscle weakness.

As the disease progresses, paralysis can extend to the muscles of the trunk and limbs and, in severe cases, to the respiratory muscles . This respiratory paralysis is the leading cause of death from botulism.

Therapy

Botulism is a medical emergency that requires immediate treatment. The primary treatment is the administration of a botulinum antitoxin , which neutralizes the toxin circulating in the blood and prevents the paralysis from worsening. However, the antitoxin cannot repair the damage already caused, so it is essential that it be administered as soon as possible.

Supportive care is often required, which may include mechanical ventilation for patients with respiratory distress and artificial feeding. Recovery may take weeks or months, depending on the severity of the illness. If botulism is caused by a wound, the wound must also be treated with antibiotics and surgical debridement to eliminate the source of the bacteria.