******************************************
A ProMED-mail post
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
Date: 2 Apr 2010
Source: WQOW.com [edited]
Botulism is recognized by many as an illness that comes from eating
contaminated food. For horses, botulism can be deadly. The silent
killer has left a Rusk County family reeling.
Last month [March 2010] the field in front of Bob and Bonnie
Rosollowski's house was full of galloping horses. Now, just 3 remain.
"The 1st one we lost was my old mare; she was 33; we had her for 31
years," said Bonnie tearfully. In a matter of weeks, Bob and Bonnie
lost 5 horses. They were up around the clock, fighting to save the
animals they loved so much. "Sometimes almost all night long," added
Bob, "trying to figure out what was going on, what we could do for
them. Nobody around here had any experience with it."
After area farmers began reporting similar problems with cattle, a
veterinarian was able to identify the illness as botulism. The toxins
in botulism are found in soil and in decaying plant or animal matter.
Bonnie suspects the snow melt and warmer weather may have created the
perfect environment for the spores to grow onto the hay that's fed to
the horses. "The toxin is always there," said Bonnie. "It just takes
the right set of circumstances to activate the spores."
The disease works quickly, attacking the nervous system. Eventually
the animal loses muscle control, and suffocates. "Even though they are
paralyzed, and they cannot motivate their muscles themselves, they
feel everything," continued Bonnie. "They feel all the pain."
An anti-toxin exists, but is not widely available and is very
expensive. The Rosollowski's were able to get the medicine in time to
save their remaining 3 horses, but the emotion of losing 5 is still
fresh. Hay from the farm is now being tested to find out whether that
is where the horses contracted botulism. For more information about
the illness, or vaccine, contact your local veterinarian.
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
[The account of the horses and nearby cattle being affected lends
credibility to the thought that the melting snows may have uncovered
the spores or the bacterium.
Botulism is a paralytic disease caused by the neurotoxins of
_Clostridium botulinum_ and in rare cases, _Clostridium butyricum_ and
_Clostridium barati._ These gram-positive spore-forming anaerobes can
be found in soil samples and marine sediments throughout the world.
Differences in antigenicity among the toxins produced by different
strains of botulism-causing organisms allow for separation of the
organisms into 7 distinct types (A-G). Types A, B, and E are the
toxins most often responsible for disease in humans, whereas types C
and D only cause disease in other animals (e.g., nonhuman mammals,
birds, fish). In rare instances, a single strain of organism may
produce 2 toxins.
_C botulinum_ is distributed widely throughout the environment and can
be found in soil, freshwater and saltwater sediments, household dust,
and on the surfaces of many foods. The toxins produced are cytoplasmic
proteins (mass = 150 kDa) released as cells lyse. While the spores
survive 2 hours at 100 C (but die rapidly at 120 C), the exotoxin is
heat labile and becomes inactive after one minute at 85 C or 5 minutes
at 80 C.
Although the mode of entry of toxin may differ between the different
forms of diseases, once the toxin enters the bloodstream, it acts in a
similar manner to produce the clinical signs and symptoms. The toxin
binds to receptors on presynaptic terminals of cholinergic [neuron]
synapses, is internalized into vesicles, and then is translocated to
the cytosol. In the cytosol, the toxin mediates the proteolysis of
components of the calcium-induced exocytosis apparatus (the SNARE
proteins) to interfere with acetylcholine release. Blockade of
neurotransmitter release at the terminal is permanent, and recovery
only occurs when the axon sprouts a new terminal to replace the
toxin-damaged one.
When the testing on the soil/hay/samples is complete, we would
appreciate an authoritative report on the situation.
Portions of this comment have been extracted from:
[see also:
Botulism, canine - USA: (FL) susp. 20100208.0430
2007
----
Botulism, bovine - Australia (QLD) (02) 20070224.0673
Botulism, bovine - Australia (QLD) 20070221.0642
2006
----
Botulism, bovine - UK (England) 20060925.2743
Botulism, bovine - UK (Scotland) 20060717.1962
Botulism, bovine - Australia (02) 20060629.1797
Botulism, bovine - Australia 20060524.1464]
............................................tg/msp/jw
*##########################################################*
************************************************************
ProMED-mail makes every effort to verify the reports that
are posted, but the accuracy and completeness of the
information, and of any statements or opinions based
thereon, are not guaranteed. The reader assumes all risks in
using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID
and its associated service providers shall not be held
responsible for errors or omissions or held liable for any
damages incurred as a result of use or reliance upon posted
or archived material.
************************************************************
Donate to ProMED-mail. Details available at:
************************************************************
Visit ProMED-mail's web site at
Send all items for posting to: promed@promedmail.org
(NOT to an individual moderator). If you do not give your
full name and affiliation, it may not be posted. Send
commands to subscribe/unsubscribe, get archives, help,
etc. to: majordomo@promedmail.org. For assistance from a
human being send mail to: owner-promed@promedmail.org.
############################################################
############################################################
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment