Botulism in Brazil, 2000-2008: epidemiology, clinical findings and laboratorial diagnosis
Keywords:
Botulism, Botulinum neurotoxin, Clostridium botulinum, Laboratorial diagnosis, Epidemiologic surveillanceAbstract
Botulism is a rare and potentially lethal illness caused by Clostridium botulinum neurotoxin. We describe the findings of a laboratorial investigation of 117 suspected cases of botulism reported to the surveillance system in Brazil from January 2000 to October 2008. Data on the number and type of samples analyzed, type of toxins identified, reporting of the number of botulism cases and transmission sources are discussed. A total of 193 clinical samples and 81 food samples were analyzed for detection and identification of the botulism neurotoxin. Among the clinical samples, 22 (11.4%) presented the toxin (nine type A, five type AB and eight with an unidentified type); in food samples, eight (9.9%) were positive for the toxin (five type A, one type AB and two with an unidentified type). Of the 38 cases of suspected botulism in Brazil, 27 were confirmed by a mouse bioassay. Laboratorial botulism diagnosis is an important procedure to elucidate cases, especially food-borne botulism, to confirm clinical diagnosis and to identify toxins in food, helping sanitary control measures.Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
Downloads
Published
2010-08-01
Issue
Section
Microbiology
How to Cite
Rowlands, R. E. G., Ristori, C. A., Lopes, G. I. S. L., Paula, A. M. R. de, Sakuma, H., Grigaliunas, R., Lopreato Filho, R., Gelli, D. S., Eduardo, M. B. de P., & Jakabi, M. (2010). Botulism in Brazil, 2000-2008: epidemiology, clinical findings and laboratorial diagnosis . Revista Do Instituto De Medicina Tropical De São Paulo, 52(4), 183-186. https://revistas.usp.br/rimtsp/article/view/31331