Published
Updated
Video length: 2 min
Botulism: symptoms, causes, mortality… A look back at this little-known deadly bacteria
Botulism cases often raise many questions about this rare neurological disease caused by bacteria. What exactly are its effects and how dangerous is it?
(France 2)
Botulism cases often raise many questions about this rare neurological disease caused by bacteria. What exactly are its effects and how dangerous is it?
Botulism is a rare neurological disease. Today, around thirty cases are detected per year in France. But is it a serious disease? It is actually food poisoning caused by a bacterium, Clostridium botulinum, which secretes powerful toxins. It occurs after eating poorly sterilized or poorly preserved food.
This disease can lead to death in 3% of cases. As in September 2023 in Bordeaux, where a woman died after eating canned sardines in a restaurant in the city. But botulism is curable in most cases, “when there is early care, particularly in medical resuscitation”explains Professor Adrien Lemaignen, from the Tours University Hospital.
Digestive disorders, nausea, vomiting, visual disturbances, up to paralysis that can affect the respiratory muscles. The symptoms are varied and depend on the amount of toxins ingested.