Clostridium Botulism Research Paper

Microorganisms are everywhere; organisms that are so small to be seen with the human eye cover the entire planet, including humans. Some of these microbes help with digestion of food other actually protect humans and other organisms from harm. Some however are deadly. Botulism for example is a deadly assassin hiding until the time is right to strike. Botulism is so good at its job that it can be easily misdiagnosed as other medical disorders. It all started with a sausage, well maybe. Clostridium botulinum is the scientific name for a gram-positive rod shaped anaerobic bacteria that when needed can form an endospore and wait until condition are right to reemerge (Taber’s 301). Endospores can survive in a dormant state for long periods of time

Type C and D attack animals and G is not known to attack either humans or animals. Botulism releases a toxin that breaks down protein in the body; more specifically it attacks the protein that is attached to the nerve ending for muscle contraction. People affected with botulism will have several symptoms. Nausea, vomiting, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing, drooping eyelids, and double vision is common in adults; children and infants will may be constipated, have no desire to eat, and muscles will become flaccid. If symptoms occur the person should be taken an emergency room; respiratory distress can occur and the person would not have the ability to breathe voluntarily. Specific testing such as stool samples, gastric contents, or even testing suspected contaminated food, should be done to verify a diagnosis of botulism; reported cases of botulism number less than two hundred worldwide yearly and is often misdiagnosed as stroke or

The treatment consists of administering trivalent antitoxin (ABE). The antitoxin can be given either by a shot into the muscles or in an intravenous drip. Having the antitoxin does not mean the patient will have a speedy recovery; recovery depends on the age of the patient, the strain of toxin, and the length of time the toxin was in the body before the antitoxin was administered. The toxin from botulism attacks proteins from muscle nerve endings; over time the nerve endings will begin to function again however, the process may take days, weeks, or even months. If the symptoms are ignored or not caught in time patients may be placed on ventilation devices until respiratory function returns. For infants and elderly early detection is extremely important; the elderly will not recover as quickly if at all and infants do not have the ability to verbalize symptoms. Recovery is possible in most cases if caught in time