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Clostridium botulinum
Clostridium botulinum causes botulism and is a severe type of food poisonong caused by the ingestion of foods containing the neurotoxin formed during growth of the bacteria.
The toxin can be destroyed if heated to 80 deg C for at least 10 minutes. The disease is rare but is of concern because of its high mortality rate. Clostridium botulinium and its spores are widely distributed in nature, they occur in both cultivated and forest soils, bottom sediments of streams, lakes and coastal waters and in the intestinal tracts of fish and mammals, in the gills and viscera of crabs and other shellfish.
| Onset | Symptoms & duration of illness |
| 4 hours to 8 days | Early signs are weakness and vertigo, followed by doublevision, difficulty in speaking, swallowing and breathing, muscle weakness, abdominal distention and constipation. |
| normally | |
| 18 to 36 hours | Paralysis and death may follow. |
Foods incriminated:
The organism is anaerobic and is therefore normally associated with canned, vacuumed packed or modified atmosphere foods.
The toxin from clostridium botulinum can be fatal when consumed in very small quantities and all people are believed to be susceptible.
