BOTULISM AND BIOTERRORISM ATTACK: WHAT TO DO
Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2001 7:55 pm
BOTULISM AND BIOTERRORISM ATTACK:
WHAT TO DO by Eileen Nauman, DHM(UK)
Permission is granted to distribute this to anyone who wants it This is
information from the Centers for Disease Control. At the end of this
article is information where you can contact them if you want. The
Centers for Disease Control have given the below information. I am
providing homeopathic information.
The other threat, besides chemical warfare being dropped on us from a
plane flying over the city and releasing an agent, is BIOLOGICAL
WARFARE, which means "germs"--virus, bacteria or spores--that can kill
us. Below is BOTULISM. Other articles to come will be on ANTHRAX and
PLAGUE. All these are the top 3 that terrorists like to use to create
hysteria and death.
BOTULISM AS A WEAPON OF WAR Biological Weapon Botulism toxin is the most
potent lethal substance known to man (lethal dose 1ng/kg). Botulism
toxin is made by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum.
Botulinum toxin was developed as an aerosol weapon by several
countries. No human data exist on the effects inhaling botulinum toxin,
but it may resemble the foodborne syndrome.
If people have intentionally been exposed, in a bioterrorist attack,
breathing in the toxin or ingesting the toxin via contaminated food or
water are the most likely routes of exposure that might lead to a
serious illness (foodborne botulism).
Spores of C. botulinum are found in soil worldwide. Terrorists with
the technical capacity to grow cultures of the bacterium, and harvest
and purify the toxin could therefore use it as a bioterrorism agent.
Contaminating food with botulism toxin could cause a devastating event.
THE DISEASE/BIOLOGICAL WEAPON About 25 cases of foodborne botulism occur
each year, usually due to improperly prepared home-canned or Alaskan
Native foods. Outbreaks from commercial products and foods prepared
improperly in restaurants have also occurred.
Botulism is a muscle paralyzing disease caused by a nerve toxin that is
made by a bacterium called Clostridium botulinum. The toxin types most
commonly associated with human disease are types A, B, E.
There are three main kinds of botulism.
1. Foodborne Botulism occurs when a person ingests PRE-FORMED toxin
that leads to illness within a few hours to days. Only foodborne
botulism is a public health emergency, because it could indicate that a
food is still available to other persons (besides the patient).
2. Infant botulism is a condition that occurs in a small number of
susceptible infants each year. For unknown reasons the botulism
bacteria is able to grow in their intestines. Infant botulism is not a
public health emergency because the infants are not consuming food with
toxin; rather they are consuming C. botulinum spores (which are
everywhere in theenvironment), but for unknown reasons these few infants
are susceptible to gut colonization.
3. Wound botulism is caused by the growth of living botulism bacteria
in a wound, with ongoing secretion of toxin that causes the paralytic
illness. In the United States this syndrome is seen almost exclusively
in injecting drug users.
4. Distribution by terrorists either via airplane over an area and
releasing it, or putting in our water or food supply. (EN)
SYMPTOMS OF BOTULISM Symptoms of botulism include double vision, blurred
vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing, dry
mouth, muscle weakness which always descends the body: first shoulders,
then upper arms, then lower arms, then thigh, calves, etc. Paralysis of
breathing muscles can cause a person to stop breathing and die, unless
he/she is assisted by a ventilator.
HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES VISION; DIPLOPIA (K277) (105) : Aur., Gels., Hyos.,
Nat-m., Nit-ac., agar.
VISION; BLURRED (K271)(Dim)(Foggy) (85) : Gels., Lac-c., Nat-m., acon.,
agar., anac.
EYE; FALLING of lids (K240) (67) : Gels., alum., bell., caust., lyc.,
morph.
THROAT; SWALLOWING; difficult (K467)(impeded)(impossible)(Food
lodges)(Obstruction; swallowing when) (212) : Am-c., Bar-c., Chin.,
Hyos., Kali-c., Lach.
MOUTH; DRYNESS (K403) (236) : Acon., Ars., Ars-s-f., Bar-c., Bar-m.,
Bell.
EXTREMITIES; WEAKNESS (K1224) (217) : Arg., Arg-n., Ars., Bry., Calc.,
Caust.
GENERALITIES; PARALYSIS (Weakness; paralytic) (90) : Cocc., Lach.,
acon., alumn., arg-n., arn.
1. Gelsemium
2. Arsenicum album
3. Carbolicum acidum
4. Nux Vomica
5. Phosphorus If you feel you have been exposed to a nerve/chemical
release by terrorist where you live, here's what you must do:
1. Get to the emergency room of your local hospital as soon as humanly
possible.
2. Check the below document for your symptoms. Take the homeopathic
remedy that most closely parallels your symptoms.
POTENCY and DOSAGE Potency ordered from a homeopathic pharmacy (or, if
you buy a kit) should be a 30C. Take these white pellets UNDER your
tongue and let them melt way. Do NOT take them with water. Take every
15 minutes until you can receive emergency medical help.
If you cannot get to the hospital. Take every fifteen minutes until the
symptoms go away. When they stop: STOP taking the remedy.
WHERE TO GO ONLINE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT EACH OF THESE REMEDY PICTURES
Under the circumstances it is impossible for me to give you all the
symptoms of each of these remedies. However, there is a website that
has all these remedies and you can download and print the ones you want
to keep on hand in a file that is handy for you to get to. Here is the
website address:
http://www.homeoint.org/books2/nashtherap/ WHERE TO GET HOMEOPATHIC
REMEDIES TO KEEP ON HAND There are several homeopathic pharmaceutical
companies. I recommend a kit.
In particular, I recommend the Poisons That Heal Kit from Hahnemann
Labs. Go to:
http://www.hahnemannlabs.com/home___first_aid_kits.html You will see it
there. This kit is for epidemics and diseases. Although it is not
specific for chemical warfare, there are still remedies in there that
can help you.
I also recommend my book, POISONS THAT HEALS because I wrote it for
epidemic and potential terrorist attacks. It does not have info on
anthrax, but does on Plague, Ebola, and others. Please go to that page
and check it out. You do NOT need to buy the book, however. You can
simply take this article and make do with it.
Go to:
http://www.medicinegarden.com/Homeopath ... tHeal.html
BUYING SPECIFIC REMEDIES If you already have a homeopathic kit, but you
need a few specific remedies that might not be in your kit, but are
indicated in this and other articles to follow, then:
Go to:
http://www.securewd.com/cgibin/start/ha ... rograms/re
Hahnemann Labs can be reached by phone as well:
1-888-427-6422 For anyone wanting MORE info, go to:
http://www.bt.cdc.gov/Agent/Agentlist.asp OTHER HOMEOPATHIC PHARMACIES
These pharmacies sell homeopathic remedies, individually, as well as
some sell kits. My favorite is either Boericke & Tafel or Washington
Pharmacy.
Dolisos Phamarcy, Las Vegas, Nevada 1-800-365-4767 Email:
dolisosam@aol.com www.dolisosamerica.com Canadian contact for Dolisos:
1-800-467-7754 Standard Homeopathic Pharmacy, Los Angeles, CA (note,
they do NOT sell to individuals; only wholesale stores) 1-800-624-9659
Boericke & Tafel Santa Rosa, CA
1-707-571-8202 Washington Homeopathic Products, Inc.
www.homeopathyworks.com
1-877-483-8789 Annandale Apothecary and Health Center Annandale,
Virginia (Near Wash. DC)
1-703-698-7411 LOCATING A HOMEOPATH NEAR YOU You MUST locate the nearest
homeopath to you for treatment. Please go to:
http://homeopathic.org/NCHSearch.htm This is the National Center of
Homeopathy website. This is the directory.
Simply choose your state and locate the nearest homeopath and call them
to have your case taken as soon as possible if you believe you have been
exposed to a terrorist assault.
HOW SOON DO THE SYMPTOMS COME ON?
For foodborne botulism, symptoms begin from six hours up to two weeks
after eating toxin-containing food; most commonly the delay is about
12-36 hours.
Infants with botulism appear lethargic, feed poorly, are constipated,
and have a weak cry and muscle tone.
TREATMENT FROM MEDICAL COMMUNITY CDC maintains the national botulism
anti-toxin supply. A physician diagnosing a case of botulism and
wishing to treat the patient with anti-toxin must contact the CDC
through their state health department.
This way public health officials are alerted immediately about potential
cases of botulism. CDC provides clinical consultation to physicians for
botulism cases 24 hours a day, ships botulism antitoxin when needed.
If symptoms occur, individuals should seek treatment. Botulism can be
fatal and should be considered a medical emergency.
The paralysis and respiratory failure that occur with botulism may
require a patient to be on a breathing machine (ventilator) for weeks,
plus intensive medical and nursing care. The paralysis slowly improves,
usually over several weeks. If diagnosed early, foodborne and wound
botulism can be treated with an antitoxin from horse serum which blocks
the action of toxin circulating in the blood. This can prevent patients
from worsening, but recovery still may take many weeks.
CLINICAL INFORMATION The clinical syndrome of botulism, whether
foodborne, infant, wound, or intestinal colonization, is dominated by
the neurologic symptoms and signs:
Incubation periods For foodborne botulism are reported to be as short as
6 hours or as long as
10 days, (44) but generally the time between toxin ingestion and onset
of symptoms ranges from 18 to 36 hours. (45) The ingestion of other
bacteria or their toxins in the improperly preserved food or changes in
bowel motility are likely to account for the abdominal pain, nausea and
vomiting, and diarrhea that often precede or accompany the neurologic
symptoms of foodborne botulism. Dryness of the mouth, inability to
focus to a near point (prompting the patient to complain of "blurred
vision"), and diplopia are usually the earliest neurologic complaints.
If the disease is mild, no other symptoms may develop and the initial
symptoms will gradually resolve. The person with mild botulism may not
come to medical attention.
In more severe cases, however, these initial symptoms may be followed by
dysphonia, dysarthria, dysphagia, and peripheral-muscle weakness. If
illness is severe, respiratory muscles are involved, leading to
ventilatory failure and death unless supportive care is provided.
Recovery follows the regeneration of new neuromuscular connections. A
2- to 8-week duration of ventilatory support is common, although
patients have required ventilatory support for up to 7-12 months before
the return of muscular function. (43)
Death occurs in 5%-10% of cases of foodborne botulism; early deaths
result from a failure to recognize the severity of disease or from
secondary pulmonary (lung) or systemic infections (blood), whereas
deaths after 2 weeks are usually from the complications of long-term
mechanical ventilatory management. (43)
Perhaps because infants are not able to complain about the early effects
of botulinum intoxication, the neurologic dysfunction associated with
infant botulism often seems to develop suddenly. The major
manifestations are poor feeding, diminished suckling and crying ability,
neck and peripheral weakness (the infants are often admitted as "floppy
babies"), and ventilatory failure. (21,24,34)
Constipation is also often seen in infants with botulism, and in some,
has preceded the onset of neurologic abnormalities by many days. Loss
of facial expression, extraocular muscle paralysis, dilated pupils, and
depression of deep tendon reflexes have been reported more frequently
with type B than with type A infant botulism. (34)
Treatment with aminoglycoside (prescription drug of choice by MD's when
indicated)
antimicrobial agents may promote neuromuscular weakness in infant
botulism (46) and has been associated with an increased likelihood of
the requirement of mechanical ventilation. (21,34) Fewer than 2% of
reported cases of infant botulism result in death.
DIAGNOSIS Botulism is probably substantially underdiagnosed. The
diagnosis is not difficult when it is strongly suspected, as in the
setting of a large outbreak, but since cases of botulism most often
occur singularly, the diagnosis may pose a more perplexing problem.
Findings from many outbreaks have suggested that early cases are
commonly misdiagnosed. They may be diagnosed only retrospectively after
death, when the subsequent clustering of cases of botulism-like illness
finally alerts public health personnel to an outbreak of botulism.
Botulism should be suspected in any adult with a history of acute onset
of gastrointestinal, autonomic (e.g., dry mouth, difficulty focusing),
and cranial nerve (diplopia, dysarthria, dysphagia) dysfunction or in
any infant with poor feeding, diminished sucking and crying ability,
neck and peripheral muscle weakness, and/or ventilatory distress.
MEDICAL TREATMENT The mainstays of treatment of foodborne and wound
botulism are as follows:
1) administration of botulinum antitoxin in an attempt to prevent
neurologic progression of a moderate, slowly progressive illness, or to
shorten the duration of ventilatory failure in those with a severe,
rapidly progressive illness;
2) careful monitoring of respiratory vital capacity and aggressive
respiratory care for those with ventilatory insufficiency (monitoring of
respiratory vital* Except for antitoxin administration instructions,
other information included in antitoxin package insert is accurate.
IF YOU SUSPECT BOTULISM State public health officials should then
immediately contact CDC. If a commercial food product is a suspected
vehicle for botulism, USDA or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
also should be notified. Investigation of a suspected case of botulism
includes an immediate search for other possible cases and identification
of suspected food exposures, as well as confirming the diagnosis. If a
number of people are affected, a rapid and detailed epidemiologic
investigation is launched to assure the source is identified and
controlled. Diagnostic testing of both case specimens and foods should
be performed as needed.
REFERENCES:
** For more information about botulism immune globulin, call the Infant
Botulism Prevention Program, California State Department of Health
Services, phone number (510) 540-2646.
Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
October 2000 Contact: CDC Media Relations
404 639-3286 Erick Ritchie, who volunteered to gather the info from the
CDC You are visitor number to this page since September 14th, 2001.
Health, Hope, Joy & Healing :
May you Prosper, even as your Soul Prospers 3John 2
Jennifer Ruby
Email advice is not a substitute for medical treatment.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SymphonicHealth
______________________________________________
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
WHAT TO DO by Eileen Nauman, DHM(UK)
Permission is granted to distribute this to anyone who wants it This is
information from the Centers for Disease Control. At the end of this
article is information where you can contact them if you want. The
Centers for Disease Control have given the below information. I am
providing homeopathic information.
The other threat, besides chemical warfare being dropped on us from a
plane flying over the city and releasing an agent, is BIOLOGICAL
WARFARE, which means "germs"--virus, bacteria or spores--that can kill
us. Below is BOTULISM. Other articles to come will be on ANTHRAX and
PLAGUE. All these are the top 3 that terrorists like to use to create
hysteria and death.
BOTULISM AS A WEAPON OF WAR Biological Weapon Botulism toxin is the most
potent lethal substance known to man (lethal dose 1ng/kg). Botulism
toxin is made by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum.
Botulinum toxin was developed as an aerosol weapon by several
countries. No human data exist on the effects inhaling botulinum toxin,
but it may resemble the foodborne syndrome.
If people have intentionally been exposed, in a bioterrorist attack,
breathing in the toxin or ingesting the toxin via contaminated food or
water are the most likely routes of exposure that might lead to a
serious illness (foodborne botulism).
Spores of C. botulinum are found in soil worldwide. Terrorists with
the technical capacity to grow cultures of the bacterium, and harvest
and purify the toxin could therefore use it as a bioterrorism agent.
Contaminating food with botulism toxin could cause a devastating event.
THE DISEASE/BIOLOGICAL WEAPON About 25 cases of foodborne botulism occur
each year, usually due to improperly prepared home-canned or Alaskan
Native foods. Outbreaks from commercial products and foods prepared
improperly in restaurants have also occurred.
Botulism is a muscle paralyzing disease caused by a nerve toxin that is
made by a bacterium called Clostridium botulinum. The toxin types most
commonly associated with human disease are types A, B, E.
There are three main kinds of botulism.
1. Foodborne Botulism occurs when a person ingests PRE-FORMED toxin
that leads to illness within a few hours to days. Only foodborne
botulism is a public health emergency, because it could indicate that a
food is still available to other persons (besides the patient).
2. Infant botulism is a condition that occurs in a small number of
susceptible infants each year. For unknown reasons the botulism
bacteria is able to grow in their intestines. Infant botulism is not a
public health emergency because the infants are not consuming food with
toxin; rather they are consuming C. botulinum spores (which are
everywhere in theenvironment), but for unknown reasons these few infants
are susceptible to gut colonization.
3. Wound botulism is caused by the growth of living botulism bacteria
in a wound, with ongoing secretion of toxin that causes the paralytic
illness. In the United States this syndrome is seen almost exclusively
in injecting drug users.
4. Distribution by terrorists either via airplane over an area and
releasing it, or putting in our water or food supply. (EN)
SYMPTOMS OF BOTULISM Symptoms of botulism include double vision, blurred
vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing, dry
mouth, muscle weakness which always descends the body: first shoulders,
then upper arms, then lower arms, then thigh, calves, etc. Paralysis of
breathing muscles can cause a person to stop breathing and die, unless
he/she is assisted by a ventilator.
HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES VISION; DIPLOPIA (K277) (105) : Aur., Gels., Hyos.,
Nat-m., Nit-ac., agar.
VISION; BLURRED (K271)(Dim)(Foggy) (85) : Gels., Lac-c., Nat-m., acon.,
agar., anac.
EYE; FALLING of lids (K240) (67) : Gels., alum., bell., caust., lyc.,
morph.
THROAT; SWALLOWING; difficult (K467)(impeded)(impossible)(Food
lodges)(Obstruction; swallowing when) (212) : Am-c., Bar-c., Chin.,
Hyos., Kali-c., Lach.
MOUTH; DRYNESS (K403) (236) : Acon., Ars., Ars-s-f., Bar-c., Bar-m.,
Bell.
EXTREMITIES; WEAKNESS (K1224) (217) : Arg., Arg-n., Ars., Bry., Calc.,
Caust.
GENERALITIES; PARALYSIS (Weakness; paralytic) (90) : Cocc., Lach.,
acon., alumn., arg-n., arn.
1. Gelsemium
2. Arsenicum album
3. Carbolicum acidum
4. Nux Vomica
5. Phosphorus If you feel you have been exposed to a nerve/chemical
release by terrorist where you live, here's what you must do:
1. Get to the emergency room of your local hospital as soon as humanly
possible.
2. Check the below document for your symptoms. Take the homeopathic
remedy that most closely parallels your symptoms.
POTENCY and DOSAGE Potency ordered from a homeopathic pharmacy (or, if
you buy a kit) should be a 30C. Take these white pellets UNDER your
tongue and let them melt way. Do NOT take them with water. Take every
15 minutes until you can receive emergency medical help.
If you cannot get to the hospital. Take every fifteen minutes until the
symptoms go away. When they stop: STOP taking the remedy.
WHERE TO GO ONLINE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT EACH OF THESE REMEDY PICTURES
Under the circumstances it is impossible for me to give you all the
symptoms of each of these remedies. However, there is a website that
has all these remedies and you can download and print the ones you want
to keep on hand in a file that is handy for you to get to. Here is the
website address:
http://www.homeoint.org/books2/nashtherap/ WHERE TO GET HOMEOPATHIC
REMEDIES TO KEEP ON HAND There are several homeopathic pharmaceutical
companies. I recommend a kit.
In particular, I recommend the Poisons That Heal Kit from Hahnemann
Labs. Go to:
http://www.hahnemannlabs.com/home___first_aid_kits.html You will see it
there. This kit is for epidemics and diseases. Although it is not
specific for chemical warfare, there are still remedies in there that
can help you.
I also recommend my book, POISONS THAT HEALS because I wrote it for
epidemic and potential terrorist attacks. It does not have info on
anthrax, but does on Plague, Ebola, and others. Please go to that page
and check it out. You do NOT need to buy the book, however. You can
simply take this article and make do with it.
Go to:
http://www.medicinegarden.com/Homeopath ... tHeal.html
BUYING SPECIFIC REMEDIES If you already have a homeopathic kit, but you
need a few specific remedies that might not be in your kit, but are
indicated in this and other articles to follow, then:
Go to:
http://www.securewd.com/cgibin/start/ha ... rograms/re
Hahnemann Labs can be reached by phone as well:
1-888-427-6422 For anyone wanting MORE info, go to:
http://www.bt.cdc.gov/Agent/Agentlist.asp OTHER HOMEOPATHIC PHARMACIES
These pharmacies sell homeopathic remedies, individually, as well as
some sell kits. My favorite is either Boericke & Tafel or Washington
Pharmacy.
Dolisos Phamarcy, Las Vegas, Nevada 1-800-365-4767 Email:
dolisosam@aol.com www.dolisosamerica.com Canadian contact for Dolisos:
1-800-467-7754 Standard Homeopathic Pharmacy, Los Angeles, CA (note,
they do NOT sell to individuals; only wholesale stores) 1-800-624-9659
Boericke & Tafel Santa Rosa, CA
1-707-571-8202 Washington Homeopathic Products, Inc.
www.homeopathyworks.com
1-877-483-8789 Annandale Apothecary and Health Center Annandale,
Virginia (Near Wash. DC)
1-703-698-7411 LOCATING A HOMEOPATH NEAR YOU You MUST locate the nearest
homeopath to you for treatment. Please go to:
http://homeopathic.org/NCHSearch.htm This is the National Center of
Homeopathy website. This is the directory.
Simply choose your state and locate the nearest homeopath and call them
to have your case taken as soon as possible if you believe you have been
exposed to a terrorist assault.
HOW SOON DO THE SYMPTOMS COME ON?
For foodborne botulism, symptoms begin from six hours up to two weeks
after eating toxin-containing food; most commonly the delay is about
12-36 hours.
Infants with botulism appear lethargic, feed poorly, are constipated,
and have a weak cry and muscle tone.
TREATMENT FROM MEDICAL COMMUNITY CDC maintains the national botulism
anti-toxin supply. A physician diagnosing a case of botulism and
wishing to treat the patient with anti-toxin must contact the CDC
through their state health department.
This way public health officials are alerted immediately about potential
cases of botulism. CDC provides clinical consultation to physicians for
botulism cases 24 hours a day, ships botulism antitoxin when needed.
If symptoms occur, individuals should seek treatment. Botulism can be
fatal and should be considered a medical emergency.
The paralysis and respiratory failure that occur with botulism may
require a patient to be on a breathing machine (ventilator) for weeks,
plus intensive medical and nursing care. The paralysis slowly improves,
usually over several weeks. If diagnosed early, foodborne and wound
botulism can be treated with an antitoxin from horse serum which blocks
the action of toxin circulating in the blood. This can prevent patients
from worsening, but recovery still may take many weeks.
CLINICAL INFORMATION The clinical syndrome of botulism, whether
foodborne, infant, wound, or intestinal colonization, is dominated by
the neurologic symptoms and signs:
Incubation periods For foodborne botulism are reported to be as short as
6 hours or as long as
10 days, (44) but generally the time between toxin ingestion and onset
of symptoms ranges from 18 to 36 hours. (45) The ingestion of other
bacteria or their toxins in the improperly preserved food or changes in
bowel motility are likely to account for the abdominal pain, nausea and
vomiting, and diarrhea that often precede or accompany the neurologic
symptoms of foodborne botulism. Dryness of the mouth, inability to
focus to a near point (prompting the patient to complain of "blurred
vision"), and diplopia are usually the earliest neurologic complaints.
If the disease is mild, no other symptoms may develop and the initial
symptoms will gradually resolve. The person with mild botulism may not
come to medical attention.
In more severe cases, however, these initial symptoms may be followed by
dysphonia, dysarthria, dysphagia, and peripheral-muscle weakness. If
illness is severe, respiratory muscles are involved, leading to
ventilatory failure and death unless supportive care is provided.
Recovery follows the regeneration of new neuromuscular connections. A
2- to 8-week duration of ventilatory support is common, although
patients have required ventilatory support for up to 7-12 months before
the return of muscular function. (43)
Death occurs in 5%-10% of cases of foodborne botulism; early deaths
result from a failure to recognize the severity of disease or from
secondary pulmonary (lung) or systemic infections (blood), whereas
deaths after 2 weeks are usually from the complications of long-term
mechanical ventilatory management. (43)
Perhaps because infants are not able to complain about the early effects
of botulinum intoxication, the neurologic dysfunction associated with
infant botulism often seems to develop suddenly. The major
manifestations are poor feeding, diminished suckling and crying ability,
neck and peripheral weakness (the infants are often admitted as "floppy
babies"), and ventilatory failure. (21,24,34)
Constipation is also often seen in infants with botulism, and in some,
has preceded the onset of neurologic abnormalities by many days. Loss
of facial expression, extraocular muscle paralysis, dilated pupils, and
depression of deep tendon reflexes have been reported more frequently
with type B than with type A infant botulism. (34)
Treatment with aminoglycoside (prescription drug of choice by MD's when
indicated)
antimicrobial agents may promote neuromuscular weakness in infant
botulism (46) and has been associated with an increased likelihood of
the requirement of mechanical ventilation. (21,34) Fewer than 2% of
reported cases of infant botulism result in death.
DIAGNOSIS Botulism is probably substantially underdiagnosed. The
diagnosis is not difficult when it is strongly suspected, as in the
setting of a large outbreak, but since cases of botulism most often
occur singularly, the diagnosis may pose a more perplexing problem.
Findings from many outbreaks have suggested that early cases are
commonly misdiagnosed. They may be diagnosed only retrospectively after
death, when the subsequent clustering of cases of botulism-like illness
finally alerts public health personnel to an outbreak of botulism.
Botulism should be suspected in any adult with a history of acute onset
of gastrointestinal, autonomic (e.g., dry mouth, difficulty focusing),
and cranial nerve (diplopia, dysarthria, dysphagia) dysfunction or in
any infant with poor feeding, diminished sucking and crying ability,
neck and peripheral muscle weakness, and/or ventilatory distress.
MEDICAL TREATMENT The mainstays of treatment of foodborne and wound
botulism are as follows:
1) administration of botulinum antitoxin in an attempt to prevent
neurologic progression of a moderate, slowly progressive illness, or to
shorten the duration of ventilatory failure in those with a severe,
rapidly progressive illness;
2) careful monitoring of respiratory vital capacity and aggressive
respiratory care for those with ventilatory insufficiency (monitoring of
respiratory vital* Except for antitoxin administration instructions,
other information included in antitoxin package insert is accurate.
IF YOU SUSPECT BOTULISM State public health officials should then
immediately contact CDC. If a commercial food product is a suspected
vehicle for botulism, USDA or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
also should be notified. Investigation of a suspected case of botulism
includes an immediate search for other possible cases and identification
of suspected food exposures, as well as confirming the diagnosis. If a
number of people are affected, a rapid and detailed epidemiologic
investigation is launched to assure the source is identified and
controlled. Diagnostic testing of both case specimens and foods should
be performed as needed.
REFERENCES:
** For more information about botulism immune globulin, call the Infant
Botulism Prevention Program, California State Department of Health
Services, phone number (510) 540-2646.
Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
October 2000 Contact: CDC Media Relations
404 639-3286 Erick Ritchie, who volunteered to gather the info from the
CDC You are visitor number to this page since September 14th, 2001.
Health, Hope, Joy & Healing :
May you Prosper, even as your Soul Prospers 3John 2
Jennifer Ruby
Email advice is not a substitute for medical treatment.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SymphonicHealth
______________________________________________
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯