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Article: Outbreak of botulism type E associated with eating a beached whale -- western Alaska, July 2002.(includes related statistics)
- Article from:
- MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
- Article date:
- January 17, 2003
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 U.S. Government Printing Office. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Botulism is a neuroparalytic illness caused by toxins produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, an obligate anaerobe found commonly in the environment. Intoxication with toxin type E is associated exclusively with eating animal foods of marine (salt or fresh water) origin. Persons who eat raw or fermented marine fish and mammals are at high risk for botulism from type E toxin. On July 17, 2002, the Alaska Division of Public Health investigated a cluster of suspected botulism cases among residents of a fishing village in Alaska. This report summarizes the findings of the outbreak investigation, which linked disease to eating raw muktuk (skin and a pink blubber layer) ...