On April 17, 2012, two adult females presented to the hospital with symptoms of botulism. Patient A displayed shortness of breath, increasing lethargy, ptosis, and fixed and dilated pupils, and was intubated after admission. Patient B presented with shortness of breath, vomiting, and stridor. Both patients consumed a meal consisting of a traditionally prepared salted fish, fesikh, on the evening of April 16 during a gathering to celebrate Sham el-Nessim, an Egyptian holiday marking the beginning of spring. Foodborne botulism was suspected based on symptoms and consumption of potentially hazardous food. Antitoxin was administered to both patients on April 18. Another attendee of the Sham el-Nessim gathering (patient C), who also consumed the implicated food, developed symptoms consistent with botulism on April 18. Clinical specimens from all three symptomatic attendees tested positive for either Clostridium botulinum or type E botulinum neurotoxin. Fesikh remaining from the shared meal contained both type E botulinum neurotoxin and C. botulinum type E organisms. Unsold fesikh shad and fesikh sardines tested positive for C. botulinum type E, while unsold fesikh mullet pieces in oil tested positive for both C. botulinum type E and type E botulinum neurotoxin. After consultation with public health investigators, all fesikh products were voluntarily withheld from sale by the manufacturer prior to laboratory confirmation of contamination. Additional illnesses were likely prevented by these precautionary holds, which underscores the importance of timely public health action based on epidemiological evidence available in advance of laboratory results. This is the first documented outbreak of foodborne botulism associated with fesikh to occur in Canada.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/fpd.2014.1783 | DOI Listing |
Toxicon
January 2025
University of Staffordshire, Stoke on Trent, ST4 2DE, United Kingdom.
Botulinum toxin type A is a first line choice in the treatment of spastic muscle overactivity. However, targeting the muscles involved in the deformity with the appropriate dose as well as choosing the goal to achieve and predicting the expected results can be challenging. Diagnostic nerve block with anaesthetics rapidly and temporarily suppresses overactivity of the selected muscle allowing clinicians to identify the involved muscles and the potential improvement of botulinum toxin injections.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArq Neuropsiquiatr
January 2025
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Hospital Universitário Onofre Lopes, Serviço de Neurologia, Natal RN, Brazil.
Background: The movement disorder known as hemifacial spasm is characterized by involuntary contractions of the muscles that are innervated by the facial nerve. The treatment of choice for this condition is botulinum toxin injections.
Objective: To analyze the botulinum toxin dosage in patients undergoing treatment for hemifacial spasm during a 14-year period.
Arch Dermatol Res
January 2025
Department of Dermatology, Medical Research and Clinical Studies Institute, National Research Centre, Giza, Egypt.
Palmar hyperhidrosis is common condition that is challenging to treat. Nonsurgical treatments include topical antiperspirants, iontophoresis, anticholinergic drugs and botulinum toxin injections. To evaluate the safety and efficacy of ablative fractional laser therapy, combined with topically applied botulinum toxin versus its injection for the treatment of hyperhidrosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCureus
December 2024
General Surgery, Mercy General Hospital, Sacramento, USA.
Botulinum toxin (BoNT) has traditionally been utilized to relieve tension in muscular and connective tissue diseases (CTD). However, its usage has rapidly expanded and now encompasses usage for neurological, gastrointestinal, psychological, cardiovascular, ophthalmology, orthopedics, and more. More recently, its usage has been utilized for sequelae of CTDs such as Raynaud's disease and reduced oral aperture secondary to scleroderma/systemic sclerosis.
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