infant botulism

(noun)

poisoning caused by the toxin from Clostridium botulinum where the gastro-intestinal tract is colonized by spores prior to the protective intestinal bacterial flora having developed

Related Terms

Examples of infant botulism in the following topics:

  • Botulism

    • The most common form in Western countries is infant botulism.
    • The adult form of infant botulism is termed adult intestinal toxemia, and is exceedingly rare.
    • The only drug currently available to treat infant botulism is Botulism Immune Globulin Intravenous-Human (BIG-IV or BabyBIG).
    • BabyBIG was developed by the Infant Botulism Treatment and Prevention Program at the California Department of Public Health.
    • Compare and contrast the three major modes of entry for Botulinium toxin (infant botulism or adult intestinal toxemia, foodborne botulism, and wound botulism) and describe its mechanism of action

  • Paralysis-Causing Bacterial Neurotoxins

    • Botulinum toxin can cause botulism, a serious and life-threatening illness in humans and animals.
    • Foodborne botulism can be transmitted through food that has not been heated correctly prior to being canned, or food from a can that has not been cooked correctly.
    • Most infant botulism cases cannot be prevented because the bacteria that cause this disease are in soil and dust.
    • Honey can contain the bacteria that cause infant botulism, so children less than 12 months old should not be fed honey.
    • By inhibiting acetylcholine release, the toxin interferes with nerve impulses and causes flaccid (sagging) paralysis of muscles in botulism, as opposed to the spastic paralysis seen in tetanus.

  • Cytomegalovirus Infections

    • Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a type of herpesvirus that largely affects infants and the immunocompromised.
    • Major areas of risk of infection include prenatal or postnatal infants and immunocompromised individuals, such as organ transplant recipients, persons with leukemia, or those infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
    • HCMV infection is typically unnoticed in healthy people, but can be life-threatening for the immunocompromised, such as HIV-infected persons, organ transplant recipients, or newborn infants.

  • Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection

    • A prophylactic medication (not a vaccine) exists for preterm-birth (under 35 weeks gestation) infants, and for infants with a congenital heart defect or bronchopulmonary dysplasia.
    • Studies of nebulized hypertonic saline (HS) have shown that the "use of nebulized 3% HS is a safe, inexpensive, and effective treatment for infants hospitalized with moderately severe viral bronchiolitis" where "RSV accounts for the majority of viral bronchiolitis cases. " Supportive care includes fluids and oxygen until the illness runs its course.

  • Natural Passive Immunity

    • This provides some protection for the child for a short time after birth, but eventually these deteriorate and the infant must rely on its own immune system.
    • In addition to the IgA and IgG, human milk also contains: oligosaccharides and mucins that adhere to bacteria and viruses to interfere with their attachment to host cells; lactoferrin to bind iron and make it unavailable to most bacteria; B12 binding protein to deprive bacteria of needed vitamin B12; bifidus factor that promotes the growth of Lactobacillus bifidus, normal flora in the gastrointestinal tract of infants that crowds out harmful bacteria; fibronectin that increases the antimicrobial activity of macrophages and helps repair tissue damage from infection in the gastrointestinal tract; gamma-interferon, a cytokine that enhances the activity of certain immune cells; hormones and growth factors that stimulate the baby's gastrointestinal tract to mature faster and be less susceptible to infection; and lysozyme to break down peptidoglycan in bacterial cell walls.

  • Public Health Measures for Disease Control

    • Breastfeeding is the feeding of an infant or young child with breast milk directly from female human breasts (i.e., via lactation) rather than from a baby bottle or other container.
    • It is recommended that mothers breastfeed for six months or more, without the addition of infant formula or solid food.
    • Maternal HIV infection is always an absolute contraindication to breastfeeding in developed countries with access to infant formula and clean drinking water (regardless of maternal HIV viral load or antiretroviral treatment) due to the risk for mother to child HIV transmission.
    • Artificial feeding is associated with more deaths from diarrhea in infants in both developing and developed countries.

  • Vaccine Safety

    • These include current smallpox vaccines that cannot safely be given to immunocompromised people; the tuberculosis vaccine, which is not recommended for HIV-positive infants; and the yellow-fever vaccine, which puts elderly people at particular risk of a yellow-fever-like illness.

  • Iron-Binding Proteins

    • In particular, lactoferrin provides antibacterial activity to human infants.

  • Normal Eye Microbiota

    • Newborn infants are particularly prone to bacterial attachment.

  • Group B Streptococcus Colonization

    • This strategy has lead to a significant drop in the rates of infant infection in these countries.