Difficulties in Diagnosing Food-Borne Botulism

Abstract

Botulism is a muscle-paralyzing disease caused by neurotoxins (types A–G) produced by the bacteria Clostridium botulinum. Symptoms of food-borne botulism most commonly appear 12–36 h after eating contaminated food, but the earliest neurological symptoms may in some cases start abruptly. Here, we report the cases of two patients with food-borne botulism who were admitted to the neurological emergency room as candidates for intravenous thrombolysis for acute stroke.

Keywords

• Botulism
• Bulbar palsy
• Misdiagnosis