The objective of this study was to gather data on the incidence of Clostridium botulinum spores in selected consumer-convenience food products. The incidence of spores of C. botulinum in 100 samples of each of four categories of commercially available convenience foods was determined. These categories included (i) "boil-in-the-bag" foods, (ii) vacuum-packed foods, (iii) pressurized foods, and (...

The clinical eVects of botulinum toxin have been recognised since the end of the 19th century. It is the most potent neurotoxin known and it is produced by the gram negative anaerobic bacterium Clostridium botulinum. The paralytic eVect of the toxin is due to blockade of neuromuscular transmission. Injection into a muscle causes chemodenervation and local paralysis and this eVect has led to the...

Clostridium botulinum type B was detected by multiplex PCR in the intestinal contents of a suddenly deceased 11-week-old infant and in vacuum cleaner dust from the patient's household. C. botulinum was also isolated from the deceased infant's intestinal contents and from the household dust. The genetic similarity of the two isolates was demonstrated by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and rando...

The clinical eVects of botulinum toxin have been recognised since the end of the 19th century. It is the most potent neurotoxin known and it is produced by the gram negative anaerobic bacterium Clostridium botulinum. The paralytic eVect of the toxin is due to blockade of neuromuscular transmission. Injection into a muscle causes chemodenervation and local paralysis and this eVect has led to the...

Boticin B is a heat-stable bacteriocin produced by Clostridium botulinum strain 213B that has inhibitory activity against various strains of C. botulinum and related clostridia. The gene encoding the bacteriocin was localized to a 3.0-kb HindIII fragment of an 18. 8-kb plasmid, cloned, and sequenced. DNA sequencing revealed the boticin B structural gene, btcB, to be an open reading frame encodi...

The clinical eVects of botulinum toxin have been recognised since the end of the 19th century. It is the most potent neurotoxin known and it is produced by the gram negative anaerobic bacterium Clostridium botulinum. The paralytic eVect of the toxin is due to blockade of neuromuscular transmission. Injection into a muscle causes chemodenervation and local paralysis and this eVect has led to the...

The clinical eVects of botulinum toxin have been recognised since the end of the 19th century. It is the most potent neurotoxin known and it is produced by the gram negative anaerobic bacterium Clostridium botulinum. The paralytic eVect of the toxin is due to blockade of neuromuscular transmission. Injection into a muscle causes chemodenervation and local paralysis and this eVect has led to the...