Abstract
An atypical toxin variant of Clostridium botulinum (strain 657) was isolated from the feces of a 6-week-old female infant whose symptoms and clinical history were consistent with infant botulism. Toxin detected in the feces and the toxin produced by isolates from the feces and from two rectal swabs could be neutralized by type B botulinal antitoxin only at very high ratios of of antitoxin to toxin in the neutralization mixture. One international unit of type B antitoxin neutralized only about 10 lethal doses of 657 toxin as compared with approximately 10,000 lethal doses of conventional type B toxin from the Beans strain. Antitoxin prepared against 657 toxin was 10 times more effective against the conventional toxin than against the homologous toxin. Toxoid-antitoxin-binding studies indicate that both 657 toxin and type B toxin are heterogeneous and that both toxins may contain the same molecular variants, but that the proportions of the variants are different in each.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Ciccarelli A. S., Giménez D. F. Estudio serológico de toxinas de Clostridium botulinum tipo A y cepa 84. Rev Latinoam Microbiol. 1971 Apr-Jun;13(2):67–74. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Dezfulian M., Dowell V. R., Jr Cultural and physiological characteristics and antimicrobial susceptibility of Clostridium botulinum isolates from foodborne and infant botulism cases. J Clin Microbiol. 1980 Jun;11(6):604–609. doi: 10.1128/jcm.11.6.604-609.1980. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Edmond B. J., Guerra F. A., Blake J., Hempler S. Case of infant botulism in Texas. Tex Med. 1977 Oct;73(10):85–88. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Giménez D. F., Ciccarelli A. S. Studies on strain 84 of Clostridium botulinum. Zentralbl Bakteriol Orig. 1970;215(2):212–220. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Hatheway C. L. Laboratory procedures for cases of suspected infant botulism. Rev Infect Dis. 1979 Jul-Aug;1(4):647–651. doi: 10.1093/clinids/1.4.647. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Shimizu T., Kondo H. Immunological difference between the toxin of a progeolytic strain and that of a nonproteolytic strain of Clostridium botulinum type B. Jpn J Med Sci Biol. 1973 Dec;26(5):269–271. doi: 10.7883/yoken1952.26.269. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- WRIGHT G. G., DUFF J. T., FIOCK M. A., DEVLIN H. B., SODERSTROM R. L. Studies on immunity to toxins of Clostridium botulinum. V. Detoxification of purified type A and type B toxins, and the antigenicity of univalent and bivalent aluminium phosphate adsorbed toxoids. J Immunol. 1960 Apr;84:384–389. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]