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Handbook of Neurotoxicology pp 293–304Cite as

An Overview of Clostridial Neurotoxins

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Abstract

Neurotoxins produced by the anaerobic bacteria Clostridium botulinum and C. tetani are some of the most potent naturally occurring compounds known. Their exquisite toxicity coupled with their highly specific mechanism of action render them both highly dangerous but yet quite useful to medical science. Tetanus toxin (TeNT) is usually encountered as a wound contaminant and is a significant health problem in developing countries. Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) are typically encountered in food poisoning, although they also occur as a result of wound infection (wound botulism) or as a colonizing infection in the neonatal intestinal tract (infant botulism). Tetanus intoxication, known for thousands of years, is effectively controlled in developed countries via childhood vaccination. In contrast, botulism became a common public health threat only after the advent of food preservation in the 19th century. Modern food-preparation practices have rendered botulism a rare occurrence from commercially prepared foods, although a small but significant number of cases occur annually from eating home-canned foods. Because the incidence of botulism is low, the general populace has not been vaccinated.

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Authors
  1. Mark A. Poli
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  2. Frank J. Lebeda
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. The National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Research Triangle Park, Durham, NC, USA

    Edward J. Massaro

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Poli, M.A., Lebeda, F.J. (2002). An Overview of Clostridial Neurotoxins. In: Massaro, E.J. (eds) Handbook of Neurotoxicology. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-132-9_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-132-9_16

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-61737-193-6

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