Characterization of Clostridium Baratii Type F Strains Responsible for an Outbreak of Botulism Linked to Beef Meat Consumption in France

DISCUSSION C. baratii producing BoNT/F was first identified in an infant botulism case from New Mexico (USA) in 1980 8. Then, several cases of C. baratii type F botulism have been reported in babies, mainly in the U.S. 25,26,28. C. baratii was also recognized as responsible for botulism in adults 14,26,27. However, food borne botulism outbreaks linked to C. baratii type F are rare, approximately 1.1 % of the botulism cases in the U.S. from 1981 to 2011 2,7. Most of the food borne botulism outbreaks linked to C. baratii F were reported in the U.S. One C. baratii outbreak was described in 5 adults in Spain in 2011 35. The first botulism outbreak due to C. baratii F identified in France was in November 2014 and includied a very severe case and a mild form of botulism 34. The second outbreak involved three persons who had their meal on the same day and in a same restaurant 15. Most of botulism cases in adults associated with C. baratii were attributed to botulism by intestinal colonization 7. Based on a short duration from consumption of the suspected food to symptom onset in the three patients (duration mean, 32 h) 15, the botulism form in the outbreak 2 is more likely a food-borne botulism than botulism by intestinal colonization. The four C. baratii strains of the outbreak 2 were identical at the genetic level and were distantly related to the other C. baratii strains from the outbreak 1 in France and from those isolated in the U.S. and China indicating a distinct origin of ...
Source: PLOS Currents Outbreaks - Category: Epidemiology Authors: Source Type: research