Botulism secondary prevention
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Michael Maddaleni, B.S.
Overview
After someone has been exposed to the clostridium botulinum bacteria, there needs to be ways to stop it from spreading and eventually causing damage to the host. This can be done through different techniques such as administering antitoxin and decontaminating suspected food sources.
Secondary Prevention
- One of the most common ways to help prevent the proliferation of the toxin, once exposed, is to be treated with an antitoxin. Antitoxin is supposed to ideally be administered at the very beginning of possible signs of botulism. It would take too long to wait for the results of the laboratory tests to be completed.
- It is also important to decontaminate when botulinum is suspected. Botulinum can be killed by high temperatures. 10+ minutes of 180+ degrees F heating will help to decontaminate the suspected food. The protein in the clostridium botulinum will deactivate at these high temperatures.
- Any skin that may have been exposed to clostridium botulinum needs to be thoroughly washed with soap and water.
- Any surface that may have been exposed to the bacteria needs to be treated with 0.1% hypochlorite bleach solution.