botulism

Rare, often fatal type of food poisoning. Symptoms include vomiting, diarrhoea, muscular paralysis, breathing difficulties and disturbed vision.

It is caused by a toxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, found in soil and sometimes in improperly canned foods.

Thorough cooking destroys the toxin, which otherwise suppresses the cardiac and respiratory centres of the brain. In neurology, botulinum toxin is sometimes used to treat rare movement disorders.

In cosmetics, botulinum toxin is known under the name botox® and injected into the skin to reduce wrinkles and frown lines.

An outbreak of avian botulism (C. Botulinum) May-November 1995 killed 50,000 birds on Lake Grand-Lieu, France. It was Europe's biggest outbreak for decades and its effects were to last for years. Outbreaks of avian botulism type C in North America in 1997 killed thousands of birds. Significant losses include 500,000 birds on Old Wives Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada, and 80,000 birds in a wetland refuge in Utah, USA.