In recent years, cases of botulism in cattle and other farm animals and also in farmers increased dramatically. It was proposed, that these cases could be affiliated with the spreading of compost or other organic manures contaminated with Clostridium botulinum spores on farm land. Thus, soils and fodder plants and finally farm animals could be contaminated. Therefore, the colonization behavior ...

The anaerobic film pouch technique was used to quantitate and isolate clostridial spores in 2,358 samples of raw meat (1,078 of chicken, 624 of beef, 656 of pork). Of 19,727 putrefactive anaerobic (PA) sporeformers isolated, 1 was confirmed by mouse protection testing to be Clostridium botulinum type C. This isolate was obtained from a Western Canada chicken sample which contained 5.33 clostrid...

Unsaturated C18 fatty acids, particularly oleic, are known to inhibit the growth of a great variety of bacteria (see Humfeld, 1947, for literature summary). In contrast, virtually nothing is known of the effect of such agents on the germination of spores preparatory to vegetative development. Castor soap has been reported inhibitory to Clostridium botulinum (Gibbs et al., 1926), but it is not c...

Hodgkiss, W. (Torry Research Station, Aberdeen, Scotland), and Z. John Ordal. Morphology of the spore of some strains of Clostridium botulinum type E. J. Bacteriol. 91:2031-2036. 1966.-The spores of four strains of C. botulinum type E show an unusual and elaborate morphology. Numerous tubular appendages radiate from the surface of the spore. The spore and its appendages are enclosed in a delica...

The addition of various amounts of acetic acid to pureed cucumbers inoculated with Clostridium botulinum spores has shown that outgrowth is inhibited at pH 4.8 but not at pH 5.0. Inoculation experiments with whole cucumbers showed that as little as 0.9% acetic acid in the brine was sufficient to prevent outgrowth from spore inocula as high as 10(6)/cucumber. It was further shown that the rapid ...

Conventional adult mice were pretreated with metronidazole to make their intestinal tracts receptive to colonization by Clostridium botulinum. These mice, in groups of 10, were fed 0 (controls), 10(2), 10(3), 10(4), or 10(5) C. botulinum type B spores and were placed for observation in filter-lid cages whose screen floors minimized the amounts of feces available for coprophagy. The opportunity ...

Commitment to germinate occurred in both Clostridium botulinum and Bacillus cereus spores during 0.5 min of exposure to 100 mM L-alanine or L-cysteine, measured by the inability of germination inhibitors (D form of amino acid) to inhibit germination. Spore germination at pH 4.5 was inhibited because the germinant did not bind to the trigger sites. C. botulinum spores exposed to 100 mM L-alanine...

Leukocytes from two patients with chronic granulomatous disease of childhood (CGD) and from one female carrier were examined for their capacity to induce germination of Clostridium botulinum type A spores in vitro. Normal human leukocytes induced germination of C. botulinum spores to the same extent as guinea pig neutrophils. Germination was depressed by more than half when cells from CGD patie...

BACKGROUND Although botulism is rare, recognition of a possible case of this illness represents a public health emergency. To prevent more cases, prompt investigation must be done to determine whether illness is linked to commercial product or restaurant. Botulism can masquerade as other illnesses, and seemingly unlikely foods can harbor botulinum toxin. OBJECTIVE To confirm the diagnosis and...

AIMS Experiments were designed to detect quorum-sensing signals produced by Clostridium botulinum. METHODS AND RESULTS Clostridium botulinum 56A cell-free supernatants obtained at the end of lag phase, the mid-exponential phase and early stationary phase of growth were assayed for bioluminescence in the Vibrio harveyi quorum-sensing assay system. Twelve and 16-h culture supernatants induced b...