INDIVIDUAL VARIATION IN BOTULISM

  • 1 August 1986
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 67  (4) , 617-621
Abstract
Mice were treated per os with one oral LD100 of toxic filtrate from a culture of Clostridium botulinum type C. The period between dosing and the first appearance of clinical signs varied greatly (2-31 h) from one animal to another. The duration of the pre-clinical and clinical phases together ranged from 5.5 to > 55 h. The duration of the clinical phase alone ranged from 1.25 to < 24 h, except for an apparent heart failure with no premonitory signs 4.75-31 h after dosing. Toxaemia was demonstrable in all mice that had just begun to show a clinical response 3.75-6.5 h after dosing, and in some that had not. Outside these time limits toxaemia was demonstrable only rarely, and beyond 12 h after dosing never. Therefore the many (.apprx. 50%) mice that began to show clinical signs more than 12 h after dosing had no demonstrable toxaemia throughout the entire clinical phase of the disease. The concentrations of toxin demonstrated in the blood ranged from < 5 to .gtoreq. 20 (but < 40) intravenous mouse-lethal doses/ml.