II.

Types of Botulism

A.

Food-Borne Botulism

Botulism can result from eating improperly prepared or handled food products. Most cases of food-borne botulism in the United States involve home-canned vegetables or home-preserved meats. The spores grow best in the absence of air and can thrive in sealed containers that were not adequately sterilized. Commercially prepared foods are now a rare source of this form of the disease.

B.

Wound Botulism

Botulism can occur if the Clostridium organism infects wounds from injuries, trauma, or surgery. Cases of wound botulism also have occurred among people injecting illegal drugs.

C.

Intestinal Colonization Botulism

The bacterial spores can infect the intestinal tracts of infants and sometimes adults, causing botulism. In infants under one year of age the normal microorganisms found in the intestinal tract may not have developed yet, allowing Clostridium bacteria to colonize. In adults who develop intestinal colonization botulism, the normal microorganisms may have been lost or altered after medical procedures or disease, or use of antibiotics.

D.

Other Sources

Rare cases of botulism have been reported from accidentally inhaling the botulinum toxin in a laboratory or from injecting the wrong amount of the toxin when it is used as Botox to relax wrinkles on the face for cosmetic purposes.