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ABSTRACT
Key words : botulism, antitoxin, botulinum antitoxin, Clostridium botulinum
Introduction : Botulism is a rare infectious disease with neuroparalitic manifestations,
commonly caused by home-canned food, with sporadic outbreaks.
Materials and method : We report a case of a 46-year old caucasian male pacient, who
was admitted in the Clinical Hospital of Infectious Diseases ”Sfânta Parascheva” Iași with
abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, 10 days before admision, subsequently developing
diplopia and dysphagia for solids, after eating mutton stew the day before the onset of the
symptoms.
Results : Because of the neurologic symptoms, the pacient had been initialy admitted
to the Neurological Clinic and the investigations (craniocerebral MRI, thoracic CT,
abdominal ecography, cerebrospinal fluid examination, myasthenic test) ruled out a stroke or
other possible conditions and raised the suspicion of botulism. Afterwards, he was transfered
to the Infectious Diseases Clinic, where he was tested for the Clostridium botulinum toxin,
but the anti-botulinum serum is not available at the moment in the contry. He remained in a
stable condition and the neurological symptoms were subsiding.
Conclusions : The clinical evolution of these cases may vary depending on the
quantity of contamined food consumed. The administration of the anti-botulinum serum is the
only specific treatment, but even though the incidence of the disease has been low around the
world, some cases still occure and need strict supervision and the posibility for intensive care
in case of complications. The general practicioner should not rule out botulism, especially in
cases of the association of neurological and gastrointestinal symptoms.