In two outbreaks of food-borne botulism in France, Clostridium botulinum type A was isolated and characterized from incriminated foods. Botulinum neurotoxin type A was detected in the patients' sera by mouse bioassay and in vitro endopeptidase assay with an immunocapture step and identification of the cleavage products by mass spectrometry.

18 An outbreak of human botulism was due to consumption of ham containing botulinum 19 neurotoxins B and E. Clostridium botulinum type E strain isolated from ham was assigned to 20 a new subtype (E12) based on bont/E gene sequencing and belongs to a new multi locus 21 sequence subtype as analyzed by whole genome sequencing. 22

An outbreak of human botulism was due to consumption of ham containing botulinum neurotoxins B and E. A Clostridium botulinum type E strain isolated from ham was assigned to a new subtype (E12) based on bont/E gene sequencing and belongs to a new multilocus sequence subtype, as analyzed by whole-genome sequencing.

Botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT), a product of Clostridium botulinum, reversibly inhibits the presynaptic release neurotransmitter acetylcholine at neuromuscular junction. In addition, BoNT blocks transmission other substances involved in pain perception and, together with soft-tissue anti-inflammatory effect, may play role analgesia. When first-line treatment fails, second-line therapies might incl...

Clostridium botulinum type E has been associated with botulism in adults but never in infants. Infant botulism type E cases have been associated with neurotoxigenic strains of C. butyricum. We report the first infant botulism case due to C. botulinum type E worldwide.

Botulinum toxin, a product of Clostridium botulinum, produces presynaptic neuromuscular block by preventing release of acetylcholine from nerve endings. The toxin was injected directly into the skeletal muscles of six patients with severe spasticity due to stroke-related hemiplegia. It produced both subjective and objective improvement. The toxin injections were well tolerated and no significan...

Here we report the genome sequence of a Clostridium botulinum strain IBCA10-7060 producing botulinum neurotoxin serotype B and a new toxin serotype. Multilocus sequence typing analysis revealed that this strain belongs to a new sequence type, and whole-genome single nucleotide polymorphism analysis showed that this strain clustered with strains in lineage 2 from group I.

Tetanus toxin, the product of Clostridium tetani, is the cause of tetanus symptoms. Tetanus toxin is taken up into terminals of lower motor neurons and transported axonally to the spinal cord and/or brainstem. Here the toxin moves trans-synaptically into inhibitory nerve terminals, where vesicular release of inhibitory neurotransmitters becomes blocked, leading to disinhibition of lower motor n...

BACKGROUND Norwegian meadows, including those for silage production, are recently found heavily invaded by the slug Arion vulgaris in exposed areas. As a consequence, large numbers of slugs might contaminate grass silage and cause a possible threat to animal feed quality and safety. It is well known that silage contaminated by mammalian or avian carcasses can lead to severe outbreaks of botulis...

Sanger and shotgun sequencing of Clostridium botulinum strain Af84 type Af and its botulinum neurotoxin gene (bont) clusters identified the presence of three bont gene clusters rather than the expected two. The three toxin gene clusters consisted of bont subtypes A2, F4 and F5. The bont/A2 and bont/F4 gene clusters were located within the chromosome (the latter in a novel location), while the b...