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INFANT BOTULISM - UK: (SCOTLAND)
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[1]
Date: Wed 4 Nov 2009
Source: BBC News [edited]
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/8342190.stm>
A 16 week old baby from Fife is being treated in hospital after contracting
botulism. The infant, from Oakley in Dunfermline, is described as in
serious but stable [condition] in hospital in Edinburgh.
A spokeswoman for Health Protection Scotland said, "Based on our electronic
records, which go back to 1983, we have not seen a laboratory report of an
infant botulism case. There have been no cases of any kind of botulism in
Scotland in the last year."
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[2]
Date: Wed 4 Nov 2009
Source: The Sun [edited]
<http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2712604/Baby-given-botulism-dummy-fights-for-life.html>
Baby given "botulism dummy" fights for life
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A baby was fighting for life last night after contracting rare and deadly
bug botulism -- possibly from its dummy. Logan Douglas, aged just 16 weeks,
is the first tot to get the infant form of the illness in Scotland. It is
believed he became unwell after sucking a dummy dipped in honey.
Baffled medics had failed to spot the reason for the tragic infant's
paralysis. But luckily a suspicious doctor ordered a botulism test despite
it being virtually unheard of in the UK. Just six cases have been reported
in England since 1976.
Last night Logan was in a "critical but stable" condition at the Royal
Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh. He was admitted six weeks ago.
Botulism, full name _Clostridium botulinum_, is a bug that lives in soil.
It is used in anti-wrinkle treatment Botox. But if contracted via wounds or
food it can be lethal if untreated, with the infection attacking the
central nervous system. Traces in honey are not a problem for adults but
babies under one can't kill the bug in their gut. It then releases a toxin.
[byline: Myra Philp]
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[Infant botulism results from the ingestion of spores of the organism
rather than preformed toxin. It is the commonest form of botulism in the
USA. In many cases, the source of the spores is not found although honey
has been a common vehicle. Babies being breastfed as the only source of
food may also develop the illness.
A much rarer equivalent to infant botulism, adult colonization botulism,
also may occur. Both can be grouped under the umbrella term intestinal
botulism. This term implies in situ production of the neurotoxin. The
following is the CDC (US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
editorial note with references removed from the 2003 report of a cluster of
cases of infant botulism in New York City. As noted in the piece, apparent
clusters of infant botulism are quite rare.
"Intestinal botulism is the commonest form of human botulism in the USA;
about 100 cases are reported among infants in the USA annually. Intestinal
botulism occurs rarely in older children and adults. Intestinal botulism
results from colonization and bacterial production of botulinum toxin in
the colon. Swallowing ambient _Clostridium botulinum_ spores, which exist
worldwide in soil and dust, has been proposed as the principal route of
exposure; honey is an avoidable source of some causative spores. A common
source of exposure generally is not identified; apparent clusters such as
the 4 Staten Island cases are rare and often remain unexplained after
investigations are complete. In a cluster of infant botulism cases
identified previously in the mid-Atlantic region of the USA, no common
source of exposure was identified."
<http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5202a1.htm>. - Mod.LL
Dunfermline in Fife can be located via the HealthMap/ProMED-mail
interactive map of the UK at <http://healthmap.org/r/00_9>. - Sr.Tech.Ed.MJ]
[see also:
2008
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Infant botulism, neurotoxin type F - USA: (CO) 20080225.0767
2007
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Infant botulism, possible baby food link - USA (CA)(02) 20070423.1326
Infant botulism, poss. baby food link - USA (CA): recall 20070420.1295
Botulism, baby food - North America: alert, recall (02) 20070220.0636
Botulism, baby food - North America: alert, recall 20070218.0618
Infant botulism - USA (MD) (03) 20070202.0419
Infant botulism - USA (MD) 20070112.0148
2005
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Adult colonization botulism - Czech Rep. ex Georgia (02): susp 20050426.1159
Adult colonization botulism - Czech Rep. ex Georgia: susp 20050420.1108
2003
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Infant botulism - USA (New York City) 20030117.0144
2001
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Botulism, baby formula - UK, Ireland: recall 20010814.1919]
.................ll/mj/sh
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