[email protected] wrote:
> Dear Bob Lee, > > Some additions to your comments on botulism. Botulism for some reason is only > a threat to normal healthy adults if you eat something that has been canned > wrong, same reaons you should never buy can goods tha are bulging. Dented > is okay, but bulging suggests botulism potential But, we also as mothers > are told not to feed raw honey to children under the age of 3 to 4 as the > botulism ortanism lives in raw honey. It lives there in amounts that do > not bother adults with fully functioning immune systems but can kill an > infant or young child. > > Barb Hi Barb, Very good info. Permit me to add some more for the benefit of those who are less informed in this subject. Several clostridia produce potent toxins. Outstanding in this respect is "Cl. botulinum", which is the cause of a microbial food poisoning known as "botulism". The disease is rare but often fatal. Cl. botulium grows well on ordinary culture media under strict anaerobic conditions. It grows well from 20 to 35 C, most abundant at 25 C. All types ferment glucose and maltose with acid and gas formation, and all will liquefy gelatin. Some strains produce acid and gas in lactose, salicin and glycerol. In a cooked meat medium they produce a foul odor with gas bubbles and a precipitate. They also produce hydrogen sulfide (the rotten smell). Types A, B, E,, and F cause botulism in man. Type C an D cause disease in animals. Type F is found in aquatic environments and cause "toxemia" in man and fish. The toxins are highly type-specific, and anti-toxins only neutralize their specific toxins. CS in not known to neutralize toxins, it will kill the clostridium cells. If you have it you need to have the toxins neutralized with a shot of the specific anti-toxin. In contrast to food infections such as salmonellosis, botulism is a food "intoxication" caused by an "exotoxin" produced in vitro by Cl. botulinum. The toxins of botulinus are the most potent poisons known, affecting nerves that cause a paralysis of the pharynx and diaphragm. These toxins are destroyed by heating at 80 C for 30 minutes or boiling for 10 minutes. They are NOT destroyed by acids and the enzymes trypsin and pepsin in the digestive tract. This organism is widely distributed in soil and is found in the intestinal tracts of herbivorous animals, milk cows, beef steers, goats, etc. Naturally when the animal excretes the feces will add more spores to the soil and the feces will show a high level of the organism. The spores are extremely resistant to heat; when food is not properly processed, they may survive and later germinate. Vegetative forms growing under anaerobic conditions (not forms under aerobic conditions) produce the toxin, which causes severe toxemia when eaten. Home canned "vegetables" are the most common sources of the poison, and pickled and canned meats may also serve as the growth medium for toxin production by these microorganisms. The toxin is heat-labile and can be destroyed by boiling for 15 minutes. The incidence of mortality is very high, with 65% of cases terminating in death. The incubation period of botulism is from 2 to 36 hours. Symptoms include gastrointestestinal pain, headache, weakness, constipation, respiratory difficulty and failure. Other signs are photophobia and diplopia. Treatment of human botulism with type-specific anti-serum should be initiated as soon as clinical diagnosis is made, the sooner the better. "Anti-serum" may be used prophylactically in exposed persons "before symptoms appear". "Anti-toxins" should be given only after testing for the proper anti-toxin and after testing for reaction to horse serum (best not to kill the patient with an allergic reaction). Prevention and control of botulism depend on the use of proper canning methods and boiling of any food that may contain the toxin. Botulism occurs as "forage poisoning" (moldy hay) in cattle, sheep, horses, and as "limber neck" in chickens and ducks. Its interesting that a lot of food poisoning is really "Cl. perfringens" which gives a mild illness with diarrhea and abdominal pain "with out vomiting". Symptoms occur 8 to 14 hours after eating. Patients recover in a few hours with out treatment. (mommy I've got a tummy ache). Bless you Bob Lee -- oozing on the muggy shore of the gulf coast [email protected] -- The silver-list is a moderated forum for discussion of colloidal silver. To join or quit silver-list or silver-digest send an e-mail message to: [email protected] -or- [email protected] with the word subscribe or unsubscribe in the SUBJECT line. To post, address your message to: [email protected] Silver-list archive: http://escribe.com/health/thesilverlist/index.html List maintainer: Mike Devour <[email protected]>
