I don’t quite understand the concept of botulism. I’ve googled it but anytime someone mentions it I’m confused all over again. My best understanding is that it’s food poisoning but I feel like it’s more complex than that

Question

Does botulism refer to the bacteria or to the food ?

In: 10

Answer 1

Botulism is an illness caused by a particular toxin (botulinum) secreted by a specific bacteria (*Clostridium botulinum,* usually).

The bacteria itself is harmless, but the toxin is extremely harmful. Because it’s the toxin that harms you, not the bacteria, and the toxin normally ends up in your system usually because you ate food that contained it, botulism is considered a type of food poisoning. (It’s possibly to get botulism other ways, but it’s far rarer).

The toxins affect your nervous system, which is why botulism is more dangerous than other types of food poisoning. As the toxins progress through your system, the muscles in your body become weak and stop working properly – it tends to start with things like your face drooping because your facial muscles stop working. If it gets bad enough, it can start interfering with the muscles you need to breathe, which is extremely dangerous for obvious reasons.