Infant botulism

Definition:

A special type of botulism in which living bacteria, (Clostridium botulinum), grow within the infant's gastrointestinal tract and produce a toxin responsible for the symptoms.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Clostridium botulinum is a spore-forming organism that is common in nature. The spores may be found in dust, common foods such as honey, and elsewhere. The disease occurs mostly in young infants up through fourmonths but has occurred up to 10 months. Onset as early as one week has been reported. Absolute risk factors are not known. Certain relationships appear when looking at statistics but whether these are risk is still uncertain. There appears to be an increased incidence among breast-fed infants (almost three-fourths of infants with infant botulisim have been breast-fed). About 1out of 4 infants have been given honey as part of their diet.