Chronic Clostridium botulinum infections in farmers

Abstract

Although botulism is usually an acute, often lethal disease that is caused by the ingestion of botulinum neurotoxin, there are also recognized forms like infant botulism, wound botulism, or "botulism of undefined origin" that are characterized by the fact that Clostridium botulinum colonizes the host and produces its toxin in the host. Evidence is presented here that a disease in cattle and in human care takers of diseased animals that has evolved over the past two decades, may be a chronic, visceral form of C. botulinum infection.