Foodborne botulism in the United States, 1990-2000.(Research) From: Emerging Infectious Diseases | Date: September 1, 2004| Author: Maslanka, Susan; McLaughlin, Joseph; Sobel, Jeremy; Sulka, Alana; Tucker, Nicole | COPYRIGHT 2004 U.S. National Center for Infectious Diseases. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group.Copyright information

Foodborne botulism, a potentially lethal neuroparalytic disease, is caused by ingesting preformed Clostridium botulinum neurotoxin. We reviewed surveillance data and reports from 1990 to 2000. Of 263 cases from 160 foodborne botulism events (episode of one or more related cases) in the United States, 103 (39%) cases and 58 events occurred in Alaska. Patients' median age was 48 years; 154 (59%) were female; the case-fatality rate was 4%. The median number of cases per event was 1 (r...