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Where is Clostridium botulinum can be found?

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Where is Clostridium botulinum can be found?

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Clostridium botulinum bacteria can be found in soil and dust, they cannot grow in air, so they only tend to cause problems when certain foods are stored or prepared improperly.

The most common way of getting botulism is by eating or drinking contaminated foods and beverages, like:

improperly prepared low-acid, home-canned foods (like asparagus, beets, green beans, mushrooms, peppers)

improperly smoked fish

improperly prepared raw marine mammal meat (like whale, walrus, seal)

non-refrigerated storage of low-acid fruit juices (like carrot juice)

baked potatoes stored in aluminium foil

Clostridium botulinum bacteria are heat-resistant and can survive high temperatures. The bacteria can grow in a moist, oxygen-free environment, so home canning or bottling provides the perfect conditions for the bacteria to multiply and produce the toxin, unless the food is properly canned or heat processed.

Honey (which naturally contains C. botulinum) has been linked to infant botulism. While the bacteria can't grow or produce toxins in honey, they can grow and produce toxins in a baby's intestine.

Clostridium botulinum is ubiquitous in nature.

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Read our article and learn more on MedlinePlus: Botulism

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What is Botulism? and Clostridium botulinum?

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What is Botulism? and Clostridium botulinum?

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The bacterial spores that cause botulism - Clostridium botulinum - are widespread in nature, commonly found in soil and dust. These bacterial spores rarely cause problems because they cannot grow if they are exposed to oxygen. Since the spores do not grow, they cannot produce the toxins that cause illness.

Clostridium botulinum is the bacterium that causes botulism. Clostridium botulinum is a Gram-positive, slightly curved, motile, anaerobic rod-shaped bacterium that produces heat-resistant endospores. These endospores, which are very resistant to a number of environmental stresses such as heat and high acid, can become activated in anaerobic environments, low acidity (pH greater than 4.6), high moisture content, and in temperatures ranging from 3°C to 43°C (38°F to 110°F). In hostile environmental conditions, the heat-resistant spores enable the bacteria to survive in a dormant state until conditions become more favorable.

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Where is Clostridium botulinum can be found (ARTICLE)

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Where is Clostridium botulinum can be found (ARTICLE)

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What kind of food associated with C.botulinm? (ARTICLE)

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What kind of food associated with C.botulinm? (ARTICLE)

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Home-Canned Potatoes Served at Potluck Probably Caused Botulism Outbreak

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What kind of food associated with C.botulinm? (ARTICLE)

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What kind of food associated with C.botulinm? (ARTICLE)

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Animated quick review of Clostridium botulinum

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Animated quick review of Clostridium botulinum

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Clostridium botulinum - animated quick review

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Fmgsindia.com provides free, useful resources for medical students preparing for postgraduate entrance Examinations. Check our website for more information.Short, comprehensive video lectures designed to integrate knowledge of the basic sciences to clinical applications and context. ENGAGE Subscribe to our channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/fmgsindia?sub_confirmation=1 Leave a comment, thumbs up the video (please!)

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Clostridium Botulinum (Botulism) food poisoning

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Botulism is a rare but serious paralytic illness caused by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. Foodborne botulism has been caused by such foods as canned chili, corn, peppers, and beets, as well as by canned meat products with a high pH.

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STABILITY AND VIABILITY of CLOSTRIDIUM BOTULINIUM

DRUG SUSCEPTIBILITY: Susceptible to penicillin, metronidazole, clindamycin, cephalothin, cefoxitin, cefotaxime, chloramphenicol, tetracycline, erythromycin, rifampin, and vancomycin (with some strain variation).

DRUG RESISTANCE: Usually resistant to the aminoglycosides, and may be resistant to tetracyclines and cephalosporins (with some strain variation). Also resistant to nalidixic acid and sulphamethoxazole-trimethoprim (SMX-TMP).

SUSCEPTIBILITY TO DISINFECTANTS: The vegetative state is susceptible to disinfectants such as 70% ethanol, 0.1% sodium hypochlorite, and 0.1N NaOH. Spores may be resistant to disinfectants. Toxins are inactivated (more than 99.7%) by 20 minutes exposure to 3 mg/L free available chlorine (FAC; similar to the military disinfection procedure), and 84% inactivated by a treatment of 20 minutes at 0.4 mg/L FAC (similar to municipal water treatment procedures).

PHYSICAL INACTIVATION: Toxin is destroyed after heating for 5 minutes at greater than 85°C. Toxins are detoxified in air within 12 hours and following exposure to sunlight within 1 to 3 hours. Spores are highly resistant to heat and desiccation ; therefore, it is recommended to sterilize with dry heat (2 hours at 160°C) by autoclaving (20 minutes at 121°C, 1 atm pressure) and/or by irradiation.

SURVIVAL OUTSIDE HOST: Survives well in soil, water and agricultural products

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Growth conditions:

Temperature range: 3-48°C (38-118°F)

Type A and B: 10-50°C (50-122°F)

Type E: 3-45°C (38-113°F)

Optimum Temperature for toxin development: 35°C (95°F)

pH range: 4.6 - 8.9

Lowest reported Aw for growth: 0.95

The Disease: Botulism results from consumption of foods contaminated with the preformed toxin. Toxin types A, B, and E most often are associated with botulism in humans. Type A and B is most often associated with soil and Type E is associated with water (seafood).

Infant botulism results from the growth and toxin production of Clostridium botulinum in the intestinal tract of infants rather than from eating foods containing the preformed toxin.

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Appropriate  interventions to prevent growth of organism in food

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Appropriate  interventions to prevent growth of organism in food

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effective thermal processing used as a kill step (ex: cooking, pasteurization)

use of appropriate process controls:

storage temperatures (ex: cooler, freezer)

processing parameters (ex: temperature and time for cooking, water activity during dehydration)

adequate cooling system

effective cleaning and sanitizing procedures (ex: Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOPs))

use of food technologies to prevent the growth of bacteria or other biological hazards:

packaging techniques (ex: use of vacuum packaging, modified atmosphere packaging)

preservatives

processing techniques (ex: dehydration)

source : https://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/food-safety/at-the-food-processor/biological-hazards.html

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C. botulinum is present in both water and soil, so any food that comes into contact with such vectors is a potential hazard. Home-canned products, especially of low-acid foods, are attributed to most cases of foodborne botulism, because the time and temperature to which the food is heated are often inadequate. Susceptible foods include canned asparagus, green beans, garlic in oil, corn, soups, ripe olives, tuna, sausage, luncheon meats, fermented meats, salad dressings, and smoked fish. Additionally, spores of C. botulinum have been found on the surfaces of vegetables and fruits, and infant botulism has been linked to the ingestion of spores in honey, corn syrup, and other foods (FDA 2012).

Improperly handled commercial food products also have contributed to outbreaks in previous years. In 2006, four cases of foodborne botulism associated with Bolthouse Farms carrot juice were reported to the CDC. The growth of C. botulinum in the juice was likely the result of poor refrigeration of the bottles during transport or storage (CDC 2006). Furthermore, in 2007, five cases of foodborne botulism associated with Castleberry’s hotdog chili sauce were reported, thought to be the result of production deficiencies that allowed spores of C. botulinum to survive the commercial canning process (CDC 2007).

source :

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Biochemical characteristics to identify Clostridium botulinum:

Clostridium botulinum can be divided into 4 groups:

H₂  is produced abundantly.

Milk reaction and meat digestion are positive for group 1, negative for group I, negative for group II, and variable for groups III and IV.

Group I: Positive for Esculin hydrolysis, H₂S, glucose, variable weak positive reaction for sorbitol.

Group II: variable for starch hydrolysis, weak positive reaction for amygdalin, galactose and glycogen, variable weak positive for Inositol, Inulin, Mannose, Sorbitol, Sucrose and Trehalose and variable for ribose and starch.

Group III:  Variable for indole production, lecithinase, H₂S, variable weak positive reaction and positive glucose, variable and weak positive reaction onn Inositol, Mannose,Melibiose and variable for ribose.

Group IV: Positive H₂S.