ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a case study of a 42-year-old male patient was admitted to the hospital with nausea, weakness, difficulty in speaking, and double vision. It provides a discussion on clinical management, prevention, epidemiology, biology, and pathology of this case. Botulinum toxin is produced by Clostridium botulinum, but may also be produced in rare instances by C. butyricum, C. baratti, or C. argentinense. Clostridia are anaerobic, spore-bearing Gram-positive bacilli. An incident occurs with accidental or deliberate release of a biological agent into the environment, thereby exposing any individuals to that biological agent. A laboratory incident has three major components. The immediate response is decontamination of any individuals, the second component is a risk assessment of the incident to determine the circumstances and severity of the incident and the final component is management of contaminated individuals.
