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Botulism
Botulism
Statutory notification
Botulism is a notifiable infectious disease in Western Australia.
Alert
: cases must be reported urgently by telephone to the
public health units (Healthy WA)
within a few hours of first suspicion of diagnosis.
See
notifiable communicable disease case definitions (Word 1.29MB)
.
Notifications should be made using the communicable disease notification form for
metropolitan residents (PDF 209KB)
or
regional residents (PDF 208KB)
.
For notification of regional residents see contact details of
public health units
.
See also description of
statutory medical notifications in Western Australia
.
Public health management
Important information
Infectious agent
: toxin of
Clostridium botulinum
bacteria. Other
Clostridium
species such as
C.butyricum
,
C.baratii
and
C. argentinense
may also produce botulinum toxin.
Transmission
: food-borne (ingestion of pre-formed toxin or spores) or environmental (wound contamination with spores).
Incubation period
: Dependent on form of botulism. Foodborne botulism (from ingestion of preformed toxin) usually 12-72 hr (range 2 hr -8 days). Intestinal botulism (from ingestion of spores) up to 30 days in infants, unknown in adults. Wound botulism 4-14 days.
Infectious period
: Person-to-person transmission does not occur.
Case exclusion
: Do not exclude.
Contact exclusion
: Do not exclude.
Treatment
: Supportive therapy, including a ventilator for breathing difficulties and intravenous fluids if the person can’t swallow. Clostridium botulinum anti-toxin should be given as early as possible to lessen the severity of symptoms.
Immunisation
: None available.
Case follow-up
: is conducted by the Communicable Disease Control Directorate.
Guidelines
OD 0490/14 Public Health Follow-up of Sporadic Enteric Disease Notifications
Guidelines for Exclusion of People with Enteric Diseases and their Contacts
Communicable Disease Guidelines, for teachers, child care workers, local government authorities and medical practitioners
Notifiable disease data and reports
Notifiable infectious disease dashboard
General infectious disease reports
Produced by
Public Health
Related links
Botulism (Healthy WA)