Explain how infant botulism is different than foodborne botulism.

Question

Shiner

Biology

10 December, 19:19

Explain how infant botulism is different than foodborne botulism.

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Answers (2)

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Kayley Salazar · Answer 1

Infant botulism is caused due to the ingestion of C. botulinum spores in infants (less than 1 year of age) whereas food botulism is caused due to the ingestion of botulinum toxin in contaminated food.

Explanation:

The bacterium, Clostridium botulinum (C. botulinum) produces a nerve toxin which is known to cause Botulism.

Botulism is of 3 types - food, wound, and infant botulism.

The difference between food and infant botulism is as follows:

Food botulism is caused due to the consumption of the botulism toxin present in the food. This mainly occurs if the food is improperly processed and home-canned and thus, paves the way for the growth of the bacteria.

Infant botulism occurs due to the ingestion of C. botulinum spores present in the environment or specific foods such as honey by children less than 1 year of age.

Jimena Wu · Answer 2

Infant botulism is caused by eating food contaminated with bacteria that proliferates in the soil or infected food and releases toxins into the child's stomach. Foodborne botolism occurs with the ingestion of foods that are already contaminated with bacterial toxins.

Explanation:

Clostridium botulinum, an anaerobic bacillus that produces resistant spores and is found in soil, human and animal feces and food. It is the bacteria responsible for botulism.

The disease can come in different forms: foodborne botulism, infant botulism and wound botulism. The most common is botulism produced by eating food contaminated with bacterial toxin, in most cases, canned or home-made foods. Examples are vegetables, especially palm hearts, sausages, fish and seafood prepared without respecting the basic sterilization rules.

Infantile botulism manifests in the first months of life as a result of ingestion of Clostridium spores, which proliferate in soil or food and release toxins in the child's intestines. In this case, severity ranges from circumvent gastrointestinal problems to episodes of sudden death syndrome.

Wound botulism is caused by traumatic or surgical lesions infected with Clostridium botulinum and the use of injecting drugs.