Botulism is a very rare but life-threatening condition caused by toxins produced by Clostridium botulinum bacteria.
These toxins are some of the most powerful known to science. They attack the nervous system and cause paralysis.
Most people will make a full recovery with treatment, but the paralysis can spread to the muscles that control breathing if it is not treated quickly.
This is fatal in around 5-10% of cases.
The time it takes to develop symptoms can vary from a few hours to several days after exposure to the Clostridium botulinum bacteria or their toxins.
Depending on the exact type of the condition, some people initially have symptoms such as feeling sick, vomiting, stomach cramps, diarrhoea or constipation.
Without treatment, botulism eventually causes paralysis that spreads down the body from the head to the legs.
Clostridium botulinum bacteria are found in soil, dust, and river or sea sediments. The bacteria themselves are not harmful, but they can produce highly poisonous toxins when deprived of oxygen – such as in closed cans or bottles, stagnant soil or mud, or occasionally the human body.
There are three main types of botulism:
food-borne botulism – when someone eats food containing the toxins because it hasn't been properly canned, preserved or cooked
wound botulism – when a wound becomes infected with the bacteria, usually as a result of injecting illegal drugs contaminated with the bacteria, such as heroin, into muscle rather than a vein
infant botulism – when a baby swallows a resistant form of the bacteria, called a spore, in contaminated soil or food, such as honey. These spores are harmless to older children and adults because the body develops defences against them from about one year of age
Botulism needs to be treated in hospital and while treatment will not reverse any paralysis that has already been caused by the toxin - it will stop it getting any worse.
In most people, paralysis that occurred before treatment will gradually improve over the following weeks or months.
source MIRROR