ABSTRACT
Bacterial toxins are substances that cause damage to host cells and that are often implicated in pathogenesis. Toxigenic bacterial pathogens are a constant feature of our environment. Bacterial toxins were recognized by the 1890s as the potent substances responsible for such infectious diseases as diphtheria (Loeffler, 1884), tetanus (von Behring and Kitasato, 1890), and botulinum (van Ermengen, 1897b). The nomenclature for these toxins was created in the early studies by coupling the term toxin with the disease name, e.g., diphtheria, tetanus, and botulinum toxins. More recently, because some toxins isolated from different organisms were found to cause the same type of cellular disorder, they were also named after their specific type of action. Therefore, toxins that cause enteric disorders, such as cholera, salmonellosis, and Escherichia coli infection, are called enterotoxins; those that cause neurological disorders such as paralysis are called neurotoxins.
