Type F botulism due to neurotoxigenic Clostridium baratii from an unknown source in an adult

Abstract

Type F botulism was confirmed in a 54-year-old male with signs compatible with botulism who reported to the emergency unit of a hospital. Botulinal neurotoxin was detected in the patient's serum and fecal specimens, and a neurotoxigenic organism whose physiologic characteristics correspond to those of Clostridium baratii was isolated. The toxin produced by the isolate was neutralized by type F botulinal antitoxin and cross-neutralized with lower efficiency by type E antitoxin. The patient's food history was not suggestive of botulism, and it seems likely that the illness was due to colonization of the gut.