Foodborne Illness from Home-Prepared Fermented Tofu
After several days, she began to suffer from double vision. Six days later, when she visited her doctor, he noticed additional facial paralysis. she also complained of dizziness, drooling, and difficulty swallowing. Further examination indicated sluggish tongue movement, slurred speech, and weakness in her right arm. Other person ate for less time, he reported 3 days of worsening double vision, dizziness, and difficulty swallowing. On physical examination, he also had sluggish tongue movement.
Botulism is the disease caused by C. botulinum, by a neurotoxin produced by them. This neuro toxin can paralyze muscle and can be fatal. Could you explain why if that is correct and why?
In general, how this disease is normally prevented? Please explain in detail
C. Botulinum has neuro-toxin effect, they produce this action by binding presynaptically to high affinity recognition sites on the cholinergic nerve terminals and decrease the release of acetylcholine(neurotransmitter) causing the neruo-muscular blocking effect (preventing nerve cells signals reaching the muscles) as seen in the patient (facial paralysis, slurred speech and weekness). In general Proper refrigeration prevents the bacteria from producing spores, refrigerate food within 2 hours after cooking. C.botulinum can be killed by heat, preserving food with proper condition in proper container's can help in preventing boultism.
Foodborne Illness from Home-Prepared Fermented Tofu After several days, she began to suffer from double vision....
Foodborne botulism is a severe illness that results from the ingestion of a preformed toxin produced by a bacterium, Clostridium botulinum, in contaminated food. Death can occur in up to 60% of untreated cases; supportive care and prompt administration of antitoxin have reduced mortality in the United States to less than 10%. Outbreaks of botulism have been linked to improperly preserved vegetables, fruits, and meats including fermented fish products, sausages, smoked meat, and seafood. On January 12, 1994, an infectious...