Clostridium botulinum’s Profile Student Toggle navigation

Human (DIS)service

– I’m a Gram-Positive Rod (watching my figure because of my thick peptidoglycan cell wall layer), who Gram stains a lovely blue/violet color (complements my eyes)
– Anaerobic (oxygen, yuck)
– I’m spore-forming (look out, we’re heat resistant – go ahead and just try to get rid of us)
– Small but mighty – a few nanograms of me can cause a big wallop within 36 hours! Poisoning among humans likely occurs because of ingestion of improperly preserved/processed canned foods – with the exception of high-acidic ones. Once ingested you’re going to suffer an array of discomforts from weakness, double vision, an abdominal mess…to name a few…not to mention paralysis or death if you’re highly susceptible and its not detected. There is a lot of study around how I cause infant botulism (toxins produced in their tiny intestinal tracts), such as soil, dust, etc., but honey is one food that has definitively been connected to illness in infants under 12 months.

MY CLAIM TO FAME
An incident in Ohio in 1919 where 19 people ALLEGEDLY died from an encounter with me remains one of the 10 deadliest outbreaks of foodborne illness in U.S. history.

EVEN PATHOGENS HAVE TO HAVE FRIENDS! So a special thanks to …
Clostridium tetani
Clostridium difficile
Mycobacterium leprae
Staphylococcus aureus
Listeria monocytogenes
Streptococcus pyogenes
Staphylococcus epidermidis