Botulism is a rare but serious illness. The cause is a toxin (poison) made by a bacterium called Clostridium botulinum. It occurs naturally in soil.

There are several kinds of botulism. Foodborne botulism comes from eating foods contaminated with the toxin. Wound botulism happens when a wound infected with the bacteria makes the toxin. It is more common in heroin users. Infant botulism happens when a baby consumes the spores of the bacteria from soil or honey. All forms can be deadly and are medical emergencies.

Symptoms include double or blurred vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing, dry mouth, and muscle weakness. Treatment may include antitoxins, intensive medical care, or surgery of infected wounds.

To prevent botulism:

• Be very careful when canning foods at home
• Do not let babies eat honey
• Get prompt medical care for infected wounds

Botulism is a rare but serious illness caused by a toxin that attacks the body’s nerves.

Symptoms of botulism usually start with weakness of the muscles that control the eyes, face, mouth, and throat. This weakness may spread to the neck, arms, torso, and legs. Botulism also can weaken the muscles involved in breathing, which can lead to difficulty breathing and even death.

If you or someone you know has symptoms of botulism, see your doctor or go to the emergency room immediately.

Botulism in Infants

We don’t know how most babies with infant botulism came into contact with C. botulinum spores, but we do know that these spores can be found in honey. Do not feed honey to children younger than 12 months because it has been linked to some cases of infant botulism.

Foodborne Botulism

Foodborne botulism can be caused by a food that is not prepared or stored properly. In Alaska, foodborne botulism is often caused by traditional Alaska Native foods, including fermented fish, because of the way these foods are sometimes prepared or stored.

Wound Botulism

Sometimes a wound can get infected with C. botulinum. The most common way this happens is when a contaminated illicit drug, such as black tar heroin, is injected into muscle or skin. Wound botulism also has been reported following traumatic injuries, such as motorcycle crashes and surgeries.

Protect Yourself from Botulism

Foodborne botulism is often caused by eating home-canned foods that have not been canned properly. Commercially canned foods are much less likely to be a source of botulism because modern commercial canning processes kill C. botulinum spores.

Botulism (“BOT-choo-liz-um”) is a rare but serious illness caused by a toxin that attacks the body’s nerves and causes difficulty breathing, muscle paralysis, and even death. This toxin is made by Clostridium botulinum and sometimes Clostridium butyricum and Clostridium baratii bacteria. These bacteria can be spread by food and sometimes by other means.

The bacteria that make botulinum toxin are found naturally in many places, but it’s rare for them to make people sick. These bacteria make spores, which act like protective coatings. Spores help the bacteria survive in the environment, even in extreme conditions. The spores usually do not cause people to become sick, even when they’re eaten. But under certain conditions, these spores can grow and make one of the most lethal toxins known. The conditions in which the spores can grow and make toxin are:

• Low-oxygen or no oxygen (anaerobic) environment
• Low acid
• Low sugar
• Low salt
• A certain temperature range
• A certain amount of water

For example, improperly home-canned, preserved, or fermented foods can provide the right conditions for spores to grow and make botulinum toxin. When people eat these foods, they can become seriously ill, or even die, if they don’t get proper medical treatment quickly.

The five main kinds of botulism are:

• Infant botulism can happen if the spores of the bacteria get into an infant’s intestines. The spores grow and produce the toxin which causes illness.
• Wound botulism can happen if the spores of the bacteria get into a wound and make a toxin. People who inject drugs have a greater chance of getting wound botulism. Wound botulism has also occurred in people after a traumatic injury, such as a motorcycle accident, or surgery.
• Foodborne botulism can happen by eating foods that have been contaminated with botulinum toxin. Common sources of foodborne botulism are homemade foods that have been improperly canned, preserved, or fermented. Though uncommon, store-bought foods also can be contaminated with botulinum toxin.
• Iatrogenic botulism can happen if too much botulinum toxin is injected for cosmetic reasons, such as for wrinkles, or medical reasons, such as for migraine headaches.
• Adult intestinal toxemia (also known as adult intestinal colonization) botulism is a very rare kind of botulism that can happen if the spores of the bacteria get into an adult’s intestines, grow, and produce the toxin (similar to infant botulism). Although we don’t know why people get this kind of botulism, people who have serious health conditions that affect the gut may be more likely to get sick.

All kinds of botulism can be fatal and are medical emergencies. If you or someone you know has symptoms of botulism, see your doctor or go to the emergency room immediately.

Botulism is a rare, but serious disease. Most people will go through their entire lives without getting sick with botulism.

Certain actions can increase your risk of getting sick with botulism.

• People who inject certain drugs, such as black tar heroin, put themselves at greater risk of getting wound botulism.
• People who drink certain kinds of alcohol they make themselves, such as prisoners who drink “pruno” or “hooch” made in prisons, put themselves at greater risk of getting foodborne botulism.
• People who eat home-canned or home-fermented foods that haven’t been prepared safely also have a greater chance of becoming seriously sick. These foods may include many home-canned vegetables and meats, and traditional Alaska Native fermented foods.
• People who get botulinum toxin injections for cosmetic reasons (such as for wrinkles) or medical reasons (such as for migraine headaches) may be more likely to get iatrogenic botulism if the dose they receive is too large, if they are children or weigh less than a typical adult, or if they have an underlying problem with their nerves or muscles.

People who inject illicit drugs have a risk for getting wound botulism (“BOT-choo-liz-um”), a serious illness that can be life-threatening. Your risk of getting wound botulism increases if you inject illicit drugs, especially black tar heroin, under your skin (“skin popping”) or into your muscle (“muscle popping” or “muscling”).

Wound botulism is a rare but serious illness that happens when a germ called Clostridium botulinum gets into a wound and makes a toxin. This toxin attacks your body’s nerves, which can make it hard to breathe and can cause muscle weakness and even death. If you get wound botulism, you will need medicine called antitoxin. The antitoxin can stop the toxin from causing more harm, but it can’t undo the damage already done. Even after receiving antitoxin, you might need to stay in the hospital for several weeks or even months before you recover enough to go home.

If you get wound botulism and don’t get medical treatment, you might die. If you have symptoms of wound botulism, see a doctor or go to an emergency room immediately.

What to Watch For

Symptoms of wound botulism usually appear several days after injecting contaminated drugs rather than immediately. That’s because it takes several days, or even a couple of weeks, for the germs to multiply in the body and produce the toxin.

Some of the symptoms you might have are:

• Double vision
• Blurred vision
• Drooping eyelids
• Slurred speech
• Difficulty swallowing
• A thick-feeling tongue
• Dry mouth
• Muscle weakness

As the disease gets worse, you may develop more symptoms, such as:

• Difficulty breathing
• Paralysis

You can get wound botulism even if the injection site doesn’t look infected.

If you or someone you know has symptoms of botulism, see a doctor or go to the emergency room immediately. If you do not, your symptoms may continue to get worse and can even be life-threatening. It is important to get medical care as quickly as possible, because the antitoxin and other treatments work better the earlier they are given.

Some symptoms of wound botulism can look like symptoms of opioid overdose, such as slurred speech or inability to talk, weakness, and trouble breathing. Opioids are painkilling drugs, such as oxycodone (“OxyContin”), oxymorphone (“Opana”), hydrocodone (as in Vicodin), and hydromorphone (“Dilaudid”), as well as heroin.

Naloxone, also known as Narcan®, can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose if given in time, but it will not reverse the symptoms of botulism. If you or someone you know gets treatment with Naloxone, but still has symptoms of botulism, see a doctor or go to the emergency room immediately.

When you seek medical care, be direct and honest with your medical providers. Tell them about any drugs you have used in the past two weeks and how you used them. It can be easy to mistake wound botulism for other, more common illnesses. Your doctor needs to know if you use injection drugs, so you can be diagnosed and treated quickly and correctly.

How injecting heroin can give you botulism

Every year in the United States, about 20 people are diagnosed with wound botulism. Most get it from skin popping or muscle popping black tar heroin. We don’t know how black tar heroin gets contaminated with the germ that causes botulism. Because the germ lives in soil, it might get into heroin when the drug is produced or transported, when it is cut or mixed with other substances, when it is prepared for use, or through some other way. Drug-use equipment (“works”) used to prepare or inject contaminated drugs might also spread the botulism germs to anyone who uses it.

Key facts:

• You cannot see the germ that causes botulism. Contaminated drugs do not look different from non-contaminated drugs. Lab testing is the only way to tell if your drugs are contaminated with the germ that causes botulism.
• Heating (“cooking”) heroin will not kill the botulism germ. It takes special conditions to kill this germ.
• You cannot get botulism from another person. It is not contagious. But if you share contaminated heroin or equipment (“works”) with another person, both of you might get botulism.

How to Stay Safe

You can prevent wound botulism by not injecting illicit drugs. If you are ready to quit using, there are resources to help you succeed:

• Call the national help line 24/7 at 1-800-662-HELP (1-800-662-4357)
• Find a treatment center near you
• Find a doctor experienced in treating drug addiction. They may discuss different options that can help you quit, such as counseling, peer support groups, and medicine called buprenorphine.

If you can’t or don’t want to stop using right now, don’t share needles or works. Always use safe injection practices. CDC’s HIV Risk Reduction Tool provides information on the safe injection practices you can do to protect yourself and others if you use needles.

We don’t know if using safe injection practices can prevent botulism, but injecting safely can prevent many other infections, such as HIV and hepatitis C virus infection. Reduce your chance of getting a serious illness by using clean needles and equipment and cleaning your skin before you inject.

You may have heard about a cheap, quick way to make a kind of homemade alcohol that goes by many different names, including pruno, hooch, brew, prison wine, and buck. No matter what it’s called, it can give you more than a cheap buzz. It can give you botulism, a life-threatening illness.

What is botulism?

Botulism is a rare but serious illness caused by a toxin (poison) that attacks the body’s nerves and can lead to paralysis and death. Because the disease can paralyze the muscles used in breathing, people can die soon after symptoms first appear. Even those who get medical treatment right away may be paralyzed and hooked up to a ventilator (breathing machine) for many weeks.

One way people get botulism is by eating or drinking something that has the toxin in it. Some prison inmates in California, Arizona, Utah, and Mississippi have gotten botulism after making and drinking pruno. Almost all of those inmates had to be hospitalized for treatment, and many were put on a ventilator (breathing machine) for days or even weeks. All of the botulism outbreaks linked to pruno have occurred among inmates. However, anyone who drinks this kind of alcohol is at risk.

How can pruno give me botulism?

When people make pruno, they usually ferment fruit, sugar, water, and other common ingredients for several days in a sealed plastic bag. Making alcohol this way can cause botulism germs to make toxin (poison). The toxin is what makes you sick.

It’s hard to know if pruno has botulism toxin in it, because you can’t see, smell, or taste the toxin.

How can I stay safe?

If you make pruno, you put yourself and anyone who drinks it in danger of getting botulism. The alcohol in your drink won’t destroy the toxin (make it harmless). The only way to be sure you don’t get botulism from pruno is to not drink it.

We don’t know how to make this kind of alcohol safely. But we do know that batches of pruno that gave people botulism used at least one of these ingredients:

• Potatoes
• Honey
• Food from bulging cans

How would I know if I have botulism?

If you drink pruno and have symptoms of botulism, get medical help immediately. Be sure to tell your doctor that you drank pruno. The sooner you get medical help, the better your chances of surviving the illness.

Remember, if you want to keep from getting botulism, your best bet is to not drink pruno. But if you do and you have symptoms of botulism, get medical help immediately and tell your doctor that you drank pruno.

Some of the symptoms of botulism are:

• Double vision
• Blurred vision
• Drooping eyelids
• Slurred speech
• Difficulty swallowing
• A thick-feeling tongue
• Dry mouth
• Muscle weakness

As the disease gets worse, you may develop more symptoms, such as:

• Difficulty breathing
• Paralysis (can’t move your body)

Signs and symptoms might include:

• Difficulty swallowing
• Muscle weakness
• Double vision
• Drooping eyelids
• Blurry vision
• Slurred speech
• Difficulty breathing
• Difficulty moving the eyes

Possible signs and symptoms in foodborne botulism might also include:

• Vomiting
• Nausea
• Stomach pain
• Diarrhea

Signs and symptoms in an infant might include:

• Constipation
• Poor feeding
• Drooping eyelids
• Pupils that are slow to react to light
• Face showing less expression than usual
• Weak cry that sounds different than usual
• Difficulty breathing

People with botulism might not have all of these symptoms at the same time.

The symptoms all result from muscle paralysis caused by the toxin. If untreated, the disease may progress and symptoms may worsen to cause full paralysis of some muscles, including those used in breathing and those in the arms, legs, and trunk (part of the body from the neck to the pelvis area, also called the torso).

In foodborne botulism, symptoms generally begin 18 to 36 hours after eating a contaminated food.

If you or someone you know has symptoms of botulism, immediately see your doctor or go to the emergency room.

If you or someone you know has symptoms of botulism, immediately see your doctor or go to the emergency room.

Your doctor will ask you questions and examine you to find out the cause of your symptoms. However, these clues are usually not enough for your doctor to diagnose you because some botulism symptoms also occur with other diseases – such as Guillain-Barré syndrome, meningitis, myasthenia gravis, and stroke – and even opioid overdose.

Your doctor may need to order tests to make a diagnosis. Some of these tests are:

• Brain scan
• Spinal fluid examination
• Nerve and muscle function tests (nerve conduction study and electromyography)
• Tensilon test for myasthenia gravis

If these tests don’t show what is making you sick, your doctor might order laboratory tests to look for the toxin or bacteria that cause botulism. These laboratory tests are the only way to know for certain whether you have botulism. It may take several days to get the results of your tests from the laboratory. If your doctor suspects you have botulism, you may start treatment right away.

Test for rapid-onset, short-acting cholinesterase inhibitor used in cardiac arrhythmias and in the diagnosis of myasthenia gravis. Edrophonium has also been used as an antidote to curare principles.

Botulism is caused by a toxin that attacks the body’s nerves and causes difficulty breathing, muscle paralysis, and even death.

Doctors treat botulism with a drug called an antitoxin, which prevents the toxin from causing any more harm. Antitoxin does not heal the damage the toxin has already done. Depending on how severe your symptoms are, you may need to stay in the hospital for weeks or even months before you are well enough to go home.

If your disease is severe, you may have breathing problems. You may even have respiratory (breathing) failure if the toxin paralyzes the muscles involved in breathing. If that happens, your doctor may put you on a breathing machine (ventilator) until you can breathe on your own. The paralysis caused by the toxin usually improves slowly. The medical and nursing care you receive in the hospital is to help you recover.

People with wound botulism sometimes need surgery to remove the source of the bacteria and may need to take antibiotics.

The development of antitoxin and modern medical care means that people with botulism have a much lower chance of dying than in the past, when about 50 in every 100 people with botulism died. Today, fewer than 5 of every 100 people with botulism die.

Even with antitoxin and intensive medical and nursing care, some people with botulism die from respiratory failure. Others die from infections or other problems caused by being paralyzed for weeks or months.

Patients who survive botulism may have fatigue and shortness of breath for years afterward and may need long-term therapy to help them recover.

Many cases of botulism are preventable.

Foodborne botulism

Many cases of foodborne botulism have happened after people ate home-canned, preserved, or fermented foods that were contaminated with toxin. The foods might have become contaminated if they were not canned (processed) correctly.

Foods with low acid content are the most common sources of home-canning related botulism cases. Examples of low-acid foods are:

• Asparagus
• Green beans
• Beets
• Corn
• Potatoes

New sources of foodborne botulism continue to be identified. Contamination can happen when food is handled improperly when it is made, when it is stored, or when it is used by consumers. Some examples of foods that have been contaminated are:

• Chopped garlic in oil
• Canned cheese sauce
• Canned tomatoes
• Carrot juice
• Baked potatoes wrapped in foil

In Alaska, most cases of foodborne botulism are caused by fermented fish and other aquatic animals.

If you preserve, can, or ferment your own foods, you can reduce the chance of these foods giving you, your family, or friends botulism by:

• Following safe home canning instructions as recommended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning
• Following all instructions for washing, cleaning, and sterilizing items used in canning
• Using pressure canners for low-acid foods like potatoes, most other vegetables, and meats

Everyone can reduce their chances of getting botulism by:

• Refrigerating homemade oils infused with garlic or herbs and throwing away any unused oils after 4 days.
• Keeping potatoes that have been baked while wrapped in aluminum foil hot (at temperatures above 140°F) until they are served, or refrigerating them with the foil loosened.
• Refrigerating any canned or pickled foods after you open them.

Wound Botulism

Prevent wound botulism by keeping wounds clean. If wounds appear infected, seek medical care quickly. A wound might be infected if it is:

• Red
• Swollen
• Painful
• Warm to the touch
• Full of pus or other drainage
• Accompanied by fever

Not all wounds with botulism show these general symptoms of a wound infection. If you have a wound and begin to have symptoms of botulism, seek medical care immediately.

People who inject illicit drugs, such as black tar heroin, are more likely to get wound botulism than people who do not inject drugs. People who get botulism from injecting illicit drugs might not have an obviously infected injection site.

Wound botulism may happen after traumatic injuries, such as motorcycle crashes, and surgeries. Be alert to signs of infection.

Infant botulism

Most infant botulism cases cannot be prevented because the bacteria that causes the disease is in soil and dust. The bacteria can be found inside homes on floors, carpet, and countertops—even after cleaning. For almost all children and adults who are healthy, ingesting botulism spores is not dangerous and will not cause botulism (it’s the toxin that is dangerous). For reasons we do not understand, some infants get botulism when the spores get into their digestive tracts, grow, and produce the toxin.

Honey can contain the bacteria that causes infant botulism, so do not feed honey to children younger than 12 months. Honey is safe for people 1 year of age and older.

Iatrogenic botulism

You can prevent iatrogenic (an illness caused by medical examination or treatment) botulism by getting injections of botulinum toxin only by licensed practitioners:

• If you need an injection of botulinum toxin for a medical condition, your doctor will choose the safest dose.
• If you get an injection of botulinum toxin for cosmetic reasons, be sure to go to a licensed professional.

Adult intestinal colonization

Adult intestinal colonization (also called adult intestinal toxemia) is a very rare type of botulism. People who have health conditions that change the structure or proper workings of their intestines (gut) may be at higher risk. Only a handful of people have been diagnosed with adult intestinal toxemia, and scientists do not fully understand how a person gets this type of botulism. It may be similar to infant botulism, which cannot be prevented.

Protect Yourself from Botulism

Foodborne botulism is a rare but serious illness caused by eating foods that are contaminated with the disease‑causing toxin. You cannot see, smell, or taste botulinum toxin – but taking even a small taste of food containing this toxin can be deadly.

When it doubt, throw it out!

Store home-canned foods for recommended times only. After preparing safely, label and date the jars and store them in a clean, cool, dark place. For best quality, store between 50°F and 70°F. Can no more food than you will use within one year, unless directions for a specific food give other advice.

Before you open a store-bought or home-canned food, inspect it for contamination. Suspect contamination if the container:

• Is leaking, has bulges, or is swollen
• Looks damaged or cracked

If you think the food might be contaminated, do not open the container and throw it out!

Even containers that look fine on the outside might have contaminated food inside. Suspect contamination if:

• The container spurts liquid or foam when you open it
• The food inside is discolored, moldy, or smells bad

If your container or the food inside have any of these signs of contamination, throw it out! Follow the instructions below to throw the food out safely. These actions will help you prevent people and animals from accidentally coming into contact with food that may be contaminated.

Safely throw away food and cans that may be contaminated.

1. Put on rubber or latex gloves before handling open containers of food that you think may be contaminated.
2. Avoid splashing the contaminated food on your skin.
3. Place the food or can in a sealable bag, and seal it shut.
4. Wrap another plastic bag around the sealable bag.
5. Tape the bags shut tightly.
6. Place bags in a trash receptacle for non-recyclable trash outside the home and out of reach of other people and pets.
7. Don’t discard the food in a sink, garbage disposal, or toilet.
8. Wash your hands with soap and running water for at least 2 minutes after handling food or containers that may be contaminated.

Use a bleach solution to wipe up spills of food that may be contaminated.

1. Add ¼ cup bleach for each 2 cups of water.
2. Completely cover the spill with the bleach solution.
3. Place a layer of paper towels, 5 to 10 towels thick, on top of the bleach.
4. Let the towels sit for at least 15 minutes.
5. Wipe up any remaining liquid with new paper towels.
6. Clean the area with liquid soap and water to remove the bleach.
7. Wash your hands with soap and running water for at least 2 minutes.
8. Discard sponges, cloths, rags, paper towels, and gloves that may have come into contact with contaminated food or containers with the food. To discard safely, follow instructions for discarding food that may be contaminated.

Home Canning and Botulism

Know the risks of botulism from home-canned foods

Home-canned vegetables are the most common cause of botulism outbreaks in the United States. From 1996 to 2014, there were 210 outbreaks of foodborne botulism reported to CDC. Of the 145 outbreaks that were caused by home-prepared foods, 43 outbreaks, or 30%, were from home-canned vegetables. These outbreaks often occurred because home canners did not follow canning instructions, did not use pressure canners, ignored signs of food spoilage, or didn’t know they could get botulism from improperly preserving vegetables.

Use proper home canning techniques

• The best way to prevent foodborne botulism is by carefully following instructions for safe home canning in the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning.
• Use a pressure canner for low-acid foods and follow all specified home-canning processing times for safe home canning of all foods.
  • Do not use an electric, multi-cooker appliance, even if it has a “canning” or “steam canning” button on the front panel.
• Pay special attention to the processing times for low-acid foods (pH >4.6), which include all vegetables, some tomatoes, figs, all meats, fish, and seafood. Discard all swollen, gassy, or spoiled canned foods safely.
• Before eating home-canned tomatoes, foods containing home-canned tomatoes, or any home-canned foods that are low in acid, boil in a saucepan, even if you detect no signs of spoilage.
  • At altitudes below 1,000 feet, boil foods for 10 minutes.
  • Add 1 minute for each additional 1,000 feet of elevation.
• If you know foods were underprocessed according to the current standards and recommended methods, do not eat them and throw them out safely.
• After you open any canned or pickled foods, store them in the refrigerator.

Alaska has more foodborne botulism than any other state in the country. From 1950 to 2017, more than 350 people in Alaska have gotten botulism and 24 people have died.

People in Alaska have usually gotten botulism from eating traditional Alaska Native foods, such as:

• Fermented fish heads (“stinky heads”)
• Fermented fish eggs (“stinky eggs”)
• Fermented beaver tail
• Fermented seal flipper
• Fermented walrus flipper
• Fermented whale
• Seal oil
• Dried, unsalted fish

Botulism is a serious illness, but it can be treated. If you or someone you know has symptoms of botulism, seek medical care immediately.

Protect Your Family From Botulism

By following five food safety tips, you can protect yourself and your family from getting botulism when you prepare Native foods.

1. Wash your hands, your containers, and your food before you start preparing your food.
   By washing your hands with soap and water, you wash away germs that you get from touching a contaminated surface. Also, clean the containers and areas where food will be placed. Wash your food before preparing it. This reduces the germs, but does not remove all of them. These tips also will help prevent other diseases you can get from food.
2. Use traditional methods when you prepare Native foods.

   Eating homemade fermented food has some risk of botulism. To reduce the chance of getting botulism, ferment food using the traditional method of a grass-lined hole in the ground. Use methods that allow air to circulate.

   Do NOT use plastic or glass containers. They prevent air from circulating. Even a plastic or glass container without a lid may allow the botulism germ to grow in the bottom of the container.

   It’s very important for fresh air to move around the fermenting foods, because botulism grows in an environment without air circulation – such as plastic or glass containers.

   Use salt when drying fish. Salt is a natural preservative and reduces the chance that botulism poison will grow.

3. Ferment food at a cold temperature.
   Keep food cold by fermenting it in the ground and away from the sun. Ideally, the temperature of the food should be below 37°F. It might take longer to ferment the food, but it may be safer because if you keep food cold, you prevent botulism poison from developing.
4. Boil fermented food before eating it.

   Botulism poison is destroyed by high heat. Boiling fermented food for 10 minutes can destroy the botulism poison. It might change the taste from what you are used to, but it is one way to protect you and your family from botulism.

   If fermented foods are stored in plastic or glass containers before they are eaten, they also should be boiled, because the botulism poison cannot be seen, smelled, or tasted. Boiling will destroy botulism poison that is in the food.

5. When in doubt, throw it out!
   It is much better to throw out food that might be contaminated than to eat it and get sick or lose the life of a loved one. Be sure to throw out contaminated food where it cannot be eaten by children or pets.In addition, know how the food you eat is made. If you are not sure, then don’t eat it. Botulism poison is so strong that even a small taste can cause serious problems.

By following these simple tips, you can give a helping hand and keep your family safe from botulism.

Botulism is a disease caused by toxin made by certain types of bacteria. The toxin is called botulinum toxin. It is one of the deadliest toxins known.

The bacteria that make this toxin are found naturally in many places, but it’s rare for them to make people sick. However, the toxin could be used in a biological attack. A biological attack is the intentional release of germs, or the toxins they make, that can sicken or kill people, livestock, or crops. Some countries with biological weapons programs have made the toxin that causes botulism. Some groups have tried unsuccessfully to use the toxin to intentionally harm people.

Public health authorities know the toxin could be used in a biological attack. They study the toxin and the disease it causes to be prepared if a biological attack ever happens.