ABSTRACT
Botulism is a neuroparalytic disease affecting humans and animals all over the world. The pathogenesis of botulism has been through intoxication by ingestion of the preformed toxin in an improperly preserved food, and, rarely, in vivo toxin production resulting in illness from a wound infection. Young infants have been thought to be safe from this disease, mostly because of their inability to eat food that contains the toxin. In 1976, botulism in infants became appreciated as a clinical entity.1 Laboratory and epidemiologic studies2-5 have shown that infant botulism results from the ingestion of Clostridium botulinum organisms that colonize the intestine, with subsequent multiplication and toxin production. Over 1200 infants with this infectious disease have been diagnosed since the recognition of infant botulism as a distinct clinical entity.6 Of the three forms of human botulism (food-borne, wound, and infant), the last is the most common, accounting for almost two-thirds of cases annually.6
