Anthrax Toxin And The Medical Field

Bottone, E.J., Bacillus cereus, a Volatile Human Pathogen. (2010) US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2863360/

Individual who get the non shiga toxin producing E. coli have a less severe illness, but there is still a chance they may become severely ill with infections or even death. Although this is uncommon for non shiga toxin E. Coli.

All total is about 145 cases of botulism annually in the United States. It breaks down to 15 percent are Foodborne Botulism, 65 percent are Infant Botulism and 20 percent are wound Botulism cases. Only 3 to 5 percent die from Botulism annually.

Clostridium botulinum is an, anaerobic, gram-positive, spore-forming bacteria that causes the disease known as botulism (Smith and Sugiyama, 1988). It produces a potent neurotoxin called botulinum toxin which causes botulism or more specifically foodborne botulism. The spores of the bacteria can survive high temperatures and can live in foods that are incorrectly or poorly processed (FDA). There are seven types of botulism recognized, (A-G), but only A, B, E, and F cause human botulism (FDA).

Clostridium botulinum is a type of bacterium that is one of the main reasons for causing the deadly illness botulism. To

Clostridium botulinum is a kind of bacterium that is responsible for botulism. This is a Gram-positive, rod-shaped bacterium. There are 7 types of toxins caused by C.botulinum, A-G, but only 4 of these toxin are known to cause a disease in humans they are A, B,E, and F. Only type A is universal throughout the world. Toxin G is encoded in the plasmid unlike the rest are encoded in the bacterial chromosome. What is special about type C. Botulinum is that it can only produce its toxin during sporulation. Clostridium botulinum will only become active when the environmental conditions are appropriate but other than that the endospores of Clostridium botulinum will stay “asleep” in contaminated foods. This type

Carson talks about how toxin and chemicals could kill all the insects and animals that bring songs of life to this planet.

Also, the anthrax spores can take between 1 - 60 days to begin to germinate in the body.

In the United States there are between one hundred and twenty to one hundred and fifty cases each year. The three main types of botulism, they are broken down in the following stats, and each is a threat in their own right. Each one can be cured, but will leave one questioning everything they ingest from now on.

The build up of stomach acid may cause irritation and excess pain to individuals. Luckily, antacids being a weak base can help relieve the symptoms and pain. Antacids, such as Gelusil, Medi-Firs, Alka Seltzer, and Alcalak are neutralizing agents of acids that become helpful to the human body when heartburn occurs. Heartburn, also known as acid reflux is a common medical issue that occurs when hydrochloric acid (HCl) from the stomach moves backward along the digestive track to the esophagus (located within the throat). This reverse flow of fluids causes a burning sensation due to and possible sour taste that is characteristic of acids [1].

Clostridium botulinum produces botulinum toxin which is the strongest human known toxin. This makes it have great potential for use as a bioweapon. The concern for this has risen due to Iraq’s production, under Saddam Hussein’s rule, of 19,000 liters of botulinum toxin in 1995. This amount is enough to kill the entire population of humans on earth, three times over. The use of this neurotoxin could be in the form of aerosol or food contamination. For this reason, it is highly studied. It is also the reason I picked Clostridium botulinum as the bacterium to do my research paper on.

The first strain mentions is the most common type which is foodborne botulism, food borne botulism is caused by eating foods that contain the botulinum toxin; the most frequent source being home-canned foods prepared in an unsafe manner (CDC, 2016). The next type of botulism is wound botulism which is caused by toxin produced from a wound infected with Clostridium botulinum. Injection drugs users are at increased risk for wound botulism. The third type of botulism is infant botulism caused by consuming the spores of the botulinum bacteria, which then grow in the intestines and release toxin (CDC, 2016). Bacteria from the spores can grow and multiply in a baby's intestines, producing a dangerous toxin. The condition can occur in infants up to age 12

These bacteria can be found in in soil, dust and rivers. The bacteria is not harmful but when placed in and area where it does not have enough oxygen such as in closed tins, jars, bottles, soil and mud it produces poisonous toxins. Botulin can affect the nervous system by attacking the brain and the spinal cord. Resulting in muscle weakness and loss of muscle tone and subsequent paralysis.

As stated in Chan-Tack and Bartlett’s article Botulism, “The incidence of foodborne botulism is approximately 24 cases per year.

Botulism is a rare but very serious paralytic illness that is caused by botulinum toxin(potentially deadly neurotoxin) which is produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. The botulinum toxin can enter the body in 3 main ways: by the ingestion of the toxin from eating foods that contain the botulism toxin (food borne botulism), by the contamination of a wound by the bacterium in which the toxin is produced (wound botulism) and Infant botulism which is caused by consuming the spores of the botulinum bacteria, which then grow in the intestines and release the toxin. The powerful exotoxin (botulinum toxin) leads to secretory diarrhea. All forms of botulism can be fatal and are therefore considered to be