What is botulism? What makes it dangerous?

According to Rospotrebnadzor, the Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing, botulism is a severe form of food poisoning that occurs when the botulinum toxin appears in foods, and it is produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum under low oxygen conditions.

And although the botulinum toxin is used for medical and cosmetic purposes, on the basis of which Botox is created, it is one of the most powerful organic poisons known to mankind. Once in the body, it inhibits the nerve signals that cause muscles to spasm. But with proper use, it can cure spasms, smooth the skin, and even prevent migraines, TASS reports.

But if the neurotoxin gets into an open wound or the stomach, a person suffers severe damage to the nervous system, brain signals stop reaching the muscles, and this leads to paralysis. The tissues responsible for swallowing, speaking, and breathing are more often affected.

This condition is called "botulism." Its early signs are fatigue, weakness, and dizziness—with subsequent blurring of vision, dry mouth, and difficulty swallowing and speaking. Usually, the first symptoms appear 12 to 36 hours after poisoning. And although people rarely get botulism, its mortality rate is high, with 5 to 10 percent of cases ending in death.

When botulism was first recorded in 1793 in Germany, only seven of 13 infected people survived. Its early medical care—injection of antitoxin and being hooked to a respirator if necessary—is critically important to save the patient's life, and therefore it is necessary to consult a doctor at the first signs of toxicosis.

 It is important to be careful. Since bacteria develop neurotoxins in an airless environment, Rospotrebnadzor recommends focusing on hermetically sealed home canned goods—mushrooms, vegetables, fruits, meat, poultry, pates—and on factory-made canned goods if the jar is swollen, as well as to salted or smoked fish and pork.

As explained by Dmitry Kulikov, Head of the Department of Bioecology and Biological Safety at Rosbiotech, a sign of the presence of the botulinum toxin in food can be cloudiness or bubbles in the contents of the jar—although none of these signs gives a 100 percent guarantee of the presence or absence of the poison.

Boiling food will help to kill germs in a guaranteed way; they are destroyed in 5 to 15 minutes if the food is boiled at +100°C, and in half an hour—at +80°C.

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