MICROORGANISM

1. CLOSTRIDIUM BOTULINUM
Ratheesh R.L

3. MORPHOLOGY
• Clostridium botulinum is a Gram-positive, rod-shaped bacterium that
produces several toxins.
• botulinum is an anaerobic spore-former, which produces oval shaped
spores and is commonly found in soil.
• Bacteria are 0.5 to 2.0 mcm in width and 1.6 to 22.0 mcm in length.
• Produces botulinum toxin.
• They are motile with the help of peritrichous flagella.
(Having FLAGELLA around the entire surface)

5. CULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
• They are strict anaerobes which are growing at the temperature
of 37degree C and pH of 7.4

6. NUTRIENT AGAR MEDIUM
• After 48 hrs of incubation irregular colonies will appear with 3-
8 mm diameter
• The colonies shows consistent growth.

7. COOKED MEAT MEDIUM
• Meat particles turns black in color with the
production of gas after 24 hours of incubation

8. BLOOD AGAR MEDIUM
• A zone of hemolysis will occur around the
colonies.

9. LACTOSE EGG YOLK MILK AGAR
MEDIUM
•They produce opalescence in this medium

10. PATHOGENECITY
• The most common occurrence of botulism poisoning is caused
by ingestion of a toxin that is produced by the Clostridium
botulinum bacteria.
• There are three types of botulism poisoning.
• 1. food borne botulism
• 2. infant botulism
• 3. wound botulism

11. FOODBORNE BOTULISM
• Foodborne botulism is a food poisoning caused by a toxin
produced by the bacterium, Clostridium botulinum. The bacteria
grow best in food at room temperatures (70º-110ºF).
• Foodborne botulism occurs after eating food that contains the
bacterium toxin, produced by C. Botulinum. This toxin does not
give a bad odor or taste to food. The disease most often
develops after consuming improperly processed home-canned
foods or home-preserved meats.

12. • Person-to-person spread does not occur. A person may acquire foodborne botulism
after eating contaminated food that has not been properly cooked or reheated.
• Foodborne botulism produces symptoms that affect the nervous system.
• Symptoms include:
blurred or double vision
general weakness
poor reflexes
difficulty swallowing
dry mouth
drooping of the upper eyelids
dilated pupils
constipation

13. • Symptoms of foodborne botulism usually appear 12 -
36 hours after eating contaminated food. In rare cases,
symptoms may not develop for several days.

14. INFANT BOTULISM
• Infant botulism is an illness that can happen when a baby
ingests bacteria that produce a toxin inside the body.
• This illness usually affects babies who are between 3 weeks and
6 months old, but all babies are at risk for it until their first
birthdays.
• It occurs due to ingestion of food contaminated with spores of
organism and honey has been reported as source of infection.

15. • Symptoms of botulism begin between 3 to 30 days after an
infant ingests the spores. Constipation is often the first sign of
botulism that parents notice

16. • Other symptoms of botulism can include:
flat facial expression
poor feeding (weak sucking)
weak cry
decreased movement
trouble swallowing with excessive drooling
muscle weakness
breathing problems

17. WOUND BOTULISM
• When C. botulinum bacteria get into a wound they can multiply
and produce toxin.
• These toxins will affected to the neurological system and
produces various symptoms like occulomotor and pharyngeal
paralysis.

18. LABORATORY DIAGNOSIS
• Hematological investigation
no significant changes
• Bacteriological investigations
1.demonstration of toxins
2.demonstration of organism
3.biochemical tests

19. demonstration of toxins
• Specimen like food, vomitus, feces etc are mixed with sterile
isotonic saline and divided into two parts.
• One portion is heated at 100 degree C for 10 minutes and the
other portion kept unheated.
• Three guinea pigs are taken, one is protected with polyvalent
botulinum anti-toxin before the test and other two are kept
unprotected.

20. • 2ml of unheated material is injected intra-peritoneally into
protected animal and same amount of unheated material is
injected into the second guinea pig
• The third guinea pig is injected with 3 ml of heated material

21. findings
• The second guinea pig (injected with unheated material)
develops dyspnea, flaccid paralysis and dies within 24 hours of
infection.
• The first animal(protected) and third animal (injected with
heated material) do not show any symptoms.

22. demonstration of organism
• Under microscope the smears, which are made from the
specimen shows gram positive, spore forming bacilli

23. biochemical tests
• 1. Sugar fermentation test: fermentation of glucose
and maltose will taking place with the
production of acid and gas.
• 2. H2S Production test: negative

24. TREATMENT
• Active immunization with toxoid
• Trivalent anti-toxin iv administration in case of outbreaks.

25. Prevention
• Boil home-canned foods 10 minutes
• Restrict honey from < 1 year old
• Seek medical care for wounds
• Avoid injectable street drugs