Where are Clostridium botulinum bacteria found?
These bacteria are commonly found in the soil and grow best in low oxygen conditions. How do these bacteria spread? Foodborne botulism occurs when person eats preformed toxin present in contaminated food. It often involves improperly processed home canned foods. Infant botulism occurs when children eat spores that grow and produce bacteria. These bacteria then reproduce in the gut and release toxin. Infant botulism has been associated with eating honey that contains the bacterial spores. Light and dark corn syrups have also been reported to contain the spores, although cases of infant botulism have not been linked to corn syrup. Would botulism, a rare disease, occurs when spores get into an open wound and reproduce in an anaerobic (no oxygen) environment. Who gets botulism? Anyone can get foodborne or wound botulism. Infant botulism occurs among children less than 1 year of age. What are the symptoms of botulism? Foodborne and wound botulism produce symptoms that affect the nervous sys
