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. 2021 Aug 24:9:716615.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.716615. eCollection 2021.

Mild Botulism From Illicitly Brewed Alcohol in a Large Prison Outbreak in Mississippi

Mariel Marlow  1 , Leslie Edwards  1 , Lindsey McCrickard  1 , Louise K Francois Watkins  1 , Jannifer Anderson  2 , Sheryl Hand  2 , Kathryn Taylor  2 , Janet Dykes  1 , Paul Byers  2 , Kevin Chatham-Stephens  1
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Mild Botulism From Illicitly Brewed Alcohol in a Large Prison Outbreak in Mississippi

Mariel Marlow et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

Botulism is typically described as a rapidly progressing, severe neuroparalytic disease. Foodborne botulism is transmitted through consuming food or drink that has been contaminated with botulinum toxin. During a botulism outbreak linked to illicitly brewed alcohol (also known as "hooch" or "pruno") in a prison, 11 (35%) of 31 inmates that consumed contaminated hooch had mild illnesses. This includes 2 inmates with laboratory confirmed botulism. The most frequently reported signs and symptoms among the 11 patients with mild illness included dry mouth (91%), hoarse voice (91%), difficulty swallowing (82%), fatigue (82%), and abdominal pain (82%). Foodborne botulism is likely underdiagnosed and underreported in patients with mild illness. Botulism should be considered on the differential diagnosis for patients with cranial nerve palsies.

Keywords: alcohol; botulism; cranial nerve palsies; mild illness; outbreak; prison; pruno.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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