An Outbreak of Foodborne Botulism Associated with Food Sold at a Salvage Store in Texas

Abstract

Foodborne botulism is caused by potent neurotoxins of Clostridium botulinum. We investigated a large outbreak of foodborne botulism among church supper attendees in Texas. We conducted a cohort study of attendees and investigated the salvage store that sold the implicated foods. We identified 15 cases of botulism (40%) among 38 church supper attendees. Nine patients (60%) had botulinum toxin type A detected in stool specimens. The diagnosis was delayed in 3 cases. Fifteen (63%) of 24 attendees who ate a chili dish developed botulism (relative risk, undefined; P<.001). The chili dish was prepared with "brand X" or "brand Y" frozen chili, "brand Z" canned chili, and hot dogs. An unopened container of brand X chili yielded type A toxin. Brand X chili was purchased at a salvage store where perishable foods were inadequately refrigerated. Our investigation highlights the need to improve clinicians' awareness of botulism. More rigorous and more unannounced inspections may be necessary to detect food mishandling at salvage stores.

Detection, differentiation, and subtyping of botulinum toxins A, B, E, and F by mass spectrometry

“…This method has been demonstrated on BoNT/A1 and /A2 spiked into milk and has proven effective at first detecting the active toxin and defining the serotype, and then differentiating the subtype of that toxin. It should be noted that the toxin subtype identification requires much higher levels of toxin than serotype identification; however, this level of toxin is comparable to some reports of BoNT/A present in food samples (Kalluri et al, 2003).…”

Multilocus Outbreak of Foodborne Botulism Linked to Contaminated Sausage in Hebei Province, China

“…C. botulinum strains produce 7 potent neurotoxins (types A-G), of which types A, B, and E cause most cases of botulism in humans [1,2]. Botulinum intoxication can lead to a classic clinical syndrome of cranial neuropathy and symmetric descending flaccid paralysis, which necessitates mechanical ventilatory support in ∼60% of patients [3].…”

“…Storage of a commercial food product that contains C. botulinum spores at an inappropriate temperature can lead to large outbreaks of this potentially fatal disease. Several large outbreaks in recent decades have been associated with commercial foods [1,5].…”

Single and multiple detections of foodborne pathogens by gold nanoparticle assays

“…Hamburger, ground beef Food poisoning (Pollari et al, 2017) Clostridium botulinum Canned foods Botulism (Kalluri et al, 2003) Clostridium perfringens…”