botulism

Botulism is an acute poisoning disease caused by ingesting food containing botulinum neurotoxin produced by Clostridium botulinum. The disease was first discovered in 1793 in Wildbad, southern Germany, after consuming spoiled sausages, and was named botulism. "Botulus" is the Latin word for sausage. In recent years, four clinical types of botulism have been proposed: foodborne botulism, infant botulism, wound botulism, and inhalation botulism. Clinically, all types are mainly characterized by neurological symptoms, with a high mortality rate.