ABSTRACT
References................................................................................................................14
Tetanus and botulism are lethal diseases of humans and animals that present as characteristic muscular paralyses consequent upon highly neurological disorders induced by members of the most potent group of acute toxins known. These powerful
toxins are produced by the anaerobic, spore-forming bacteria
Clostridium tetani
and
Clostridium botulinum
. Although these diseases have been known since antiquity when they were described by both Greeks and Romans, their bacterial origins were only recognized in the late 19th century.