HUMAN BOTULISM DUE TO COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS.
Two cases of botulism occurred in Montreal following the ingestion of commercially canned liver paste. A toxigenic, proteolytic strain of Clostridium botulinum type B was isolated from the paste in which type B toxin was also demonstrated by animal protection tests. One patient died undiagnosed about 45 hours after eating several liver-paste sandwiches. The second developed diplopia, dysphagia, speech difficulty and weakness 18 hours after ingestion of three bites of a sandwich. All symptoms progressed until admission to hospital where he was treated with 160,000 units of divalent botulinum AB antitoxin over a 72-hour period. Recovery was complete. The need for readily available supplies of both diagnostic and therapeutic botulinum antitoxin to meet such an emergency is stressed.
D000293:Adolescent; D000818:Animals; D000992:Antitoxins; D001904:Botulinum Antitoxin; D001906:Botulism; D002170:Canada; D003933:Diagnosis; D004172:Diplopia; D004813:Epidemiology; D005506:Food Contamination; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D014116:Toxicology; D014118:Toxins, Biological
D000992:Antitoxins; D001904:Botulinum Antitoxin; D014118:Toxins, Biological
ADOLESCENCE; BOTULISM; CANADA; DIAGNOSIS; EPIDEMIOLOGY; FOOD CONTAMINATION; TOXICOLOGIC REPORT; TOXINS AND ANTITOXINS