- Botulism - beware of canned
- Prevention and Treatment
What is botulism and its causes
Botulism - a disease caused by a toxin (poison) of botulism bacteria. Botulism occurs by eating foods that contain the botulism toxin.
Botulinum bacteria are strict anaerobes, which means that they can exist only where there is no air. The place of permanent habitation of botulism spores is the soil from which they fall into the water, fruits and vegetables, groceries, and then in the intestines of humans and animals (mammals, invertebrates, birds, and fish)
These bacteria are widely distributed in nature and exist in two forms - the vegetative and spore. Vegetative form die at a temperature of 80 ° C for 30 minutes while refluxing - 5 minutes. Under unfavorable conditions, in an environment vegetative forms of pathogens botulinum produces spores that survive boiling for 5 hours and only killed by autoclaving (steam under pressure).
A feature of botulism is that of the vegetative forms with little warming can form their "dormant spores' ability to germinate only after six months. These spores are resistant to freezing, drying, and to direct UV radiation. In anaerobic or close to conditions (canned meat animals) dispute "come alive" and begin to produce toxins 375 000 times stronger than the venom of a rattlesnake.
Under normal environmental conditions the toxins stored up to one year, and in canned foods - for years. They are stable in an acidic environment is not destroyed by enzymes of the digestive tract, can withstand high concentrations (up to 18%) of salt, do not collapse in products containing a variety of spices. Toxins decompose relatively quickly under the influence of alkalis, when boiled completely lose their toxic properties for 15-20 minutes. The presence of botulinum toxin in foods does not change their taste properties.
How could I get botulism
Most often develop botulism by eating canned food (vegetables, meat, mushroom, fish), especially prepared in the home, as well as smoked and salted fish, ham, sausages, smoked meats. The greatest danger is posed by foods contaminated soil.
The toxin can enter the body not only through the digestive tract, but also via the airways by inhalation of dust. The patient botulism danger to others is not.
Signs
First signs of the disease can occur as early as 2 hours after infection (the incubation period, i.e. the time from infection to the first signs of the disease, from 2 hours to 10 days, more often - 12-24 hours). At the same time, shorter than the incubation period, the more severe the disease will occur.
First, there is a weakness, headache, dizziness
Dizziness - if the ground is slipping from under his feet
, Malaise, fever or a normal or slightly increased. Begin sharp cramping abdominal pain
Abdominal pain: Types and Symptoms
, Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea. These events replaced the next day dry mouth, constipation and bloating. Somewhat later, visual disturbances appear: the patients see indistinctly (often marked ghosting objects) can not be read. There drooping eyelids, smoothing nasolabial folds and wrinkles due to paresis (partial paralysis) of the facial muscles. With the progression of the disease is disturbed swallowing, hoarseness appears, then the voice could entirely disappear. In severe cases, respiratory distress occurs, and the patient's death from suffocation or cardiac arrest.
Diagnostics
To confirm botulism conduct laboratory research vomit, feces and food residues (detection of botulinum bacteria), as well as the patient's blood (detection of toxin).
Treatment
Patients with botulism should be treated only in a hospital. First, patients must be conducted in such a gastric and intestinal lavage with 5% soda solution (neutralizes botulinum toxin), regardless of when it was infected.
The next step - the introduction protivobotulinicheskoy serum, antibiotics
Antibiotics - whether they will help you in the foreseeable future?
and administering fluids intravenously reducing effect of the toxin (e.g., glucose). In severe forms of the disease is carried out by means of cleansing the blood and plasmapheresis hemosorption
Plasmapheresis - cleansing the blood of toxins
As well as mechanical ventilation.
Prevention
The best prevention of botulism is eating only canned food industrial preparations. At home, you should observe the following rules:
- Vegetables, fruits, berries and mushrooms should be well washed from the particles of the earth;
- unacceptably long time taken to conserve, spoiled vegetables, fruits, berries and mushrooms;
- fish after the catch you need to quickly gut, wash in running water and stored in a cold environment;
- pickling mushrooms should not be made in hermetically sealed;
- before eating canned foods are best boiled for 20-25 minutes (during which time splits botulinum toxin);
- Before opening cans of canned food should be inspected - the development of the causative agent of botulism in them marked swelling of the bottom and lid cans (bombazh).
Galina Romanenko
