What is botulism?

Food-borne botulism is a rare but serious type of food poisoning that can result in paralysis. It is caused by the Clostridium botulinum (C. botulinum) bacterium. The bacteria produce a nerve toxin that can cause paralysis. Food-borne botulism can be fatal and is considered a medical emergency.

The symptoms of food-borne botulism may include double vision, blurred vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing, dry mouth, and muscle weakness. Infants with botulism appear to have little energy (lethargic), eat poorly, are constipated, and have a weak cry and poor muscle tone. These are all symptoms of the muscle paralysis caused by the nerve toxin. If botulism is not treated, advanced symptoms may cause paralysis of the arms, legs, and trunk and the muscles that help you breathe. In food-borne botulism, symptoms generally begin 12 to 36 hours after eating a contaminated food.

Your doctor will do a medical history and physical exam and ask you questions about your symptoms and foods you have recently eaten. The best way to be sure of the diagnosis is by checking for botulism in the blood or stool. The test results take several days to complete, so treatment will start before your doctor gets the results.

Other tests that may be done include a brain scan and a spinal fluid exam.

If diagnosed early, food-borne botulism can be treated with an antitoxin that blocks the action of the botulism toxins.

The paralysis that occurs with severe botulism may cause you to need a breathing machine (ventilator) for weeks, along with intensive medical and nursing care. After several weeks, the paralysis slowly improves.

Infants are usually not given antitoxin. But infants younger than 1 year old can be given a botulism immunoglobulin (BabyBIG) to treat botulism.