Introduction
Botulism is a life-threatening infection by the botulinum toxin produced by the clostridium botulinum bacterium. These toxins cause respiratory or muscular paralysis secondary to the impairment of nerve functions. Patients with this infection generally present with double vision, difficulty swallowing, nausea, vomiting, pupil fixation, and dry mouth not corrected by drinking water. There are three forms of botulism; wound botulism, infant botulism, and food-borne botulism. According to the world health organization (2018), the key ways to promote safer food include ensuring cleanliness, proper cooking of food, detaching cooked from uncooked food, proper food storage, and clean water. Therefore, a probable hypothesis for the preventive mechanisms is; does maintaining food hygiene prevent botulism? This paper will focus on the ways of preventing botulism.
Proper Preparation of Food
Prevention of botulism can be accomplished through the proper preparation of food. Heating food to high temperatures leads to the inactivation of the botulinum bacteria. Death of the bacteria arrests its growth and replication for spreading the botulism infection. Spores and other vegetative forms of the causative bacteria are inhibited in high temperatures. However, boiling of food can decrease the other vegetative varieties but may be ineffective in eliminating spores (World Health Organization, 2018). Furthermore, pasteurization of canned foods is not sufficient to kill off pathogens; hence preventive mechanisms need to curb bacterial growth and poison secretion. Some strategies, including commercial canning, are successful in curbing the toxin-producing organisms. Therefore, food and canned products should be thoroughly heated for the optimal prevention of botulism.
Additionally, the prevention of food-borne botulism requires practicing proper storage strategies. Improper storage of foods provides a baseline for the proliferation of the botulinum bacteria. Certain foods, including oils filled with garlic or herbs, are prone to generating toxins. Similarly, food sources that are canned, fermented, or preserved at home should be prepared to avoid botulism infections. Hence, canned foods should be refrigerated according to the manufacturer’s instructions on the ideal temperatures. Oils infused with garlic should be refrigerated and thrown away after four days. Opened canned foods should be refrigerated to stop the growth of botulinum bacteria. Any expired foods should be discarded without tasting them first (World Health Organization, 2018). Proper handling and storage of foods are necessary for preventing food-borne botulism.
Practicing Infection Prevention and Control Strategies
Practicing infection prevention strategies and avoidance of contaminated foods is instrumental in preventing botulism. Promoting proper hygiene when handling wounds is crucial in preventing wound botulism. Cleaning the hands with adequate water and a soap-based solution is significant in destroying the botulinum toxins. Healthcare personnel needs to wear sterile gloves when conducting wound dressings to prevent the spread of hospital-acquired botulism (World Health Organization, 2018). Furthermore, infants below the age of twelve months should not be given honey. This is because their honey may be spore contaminated hence spread toxins to the infants. Children below the age of one year may lack the immune defenses to prevent the bacterial toxins’ germination (World Health Organization, 2018). Ensuring adequate infection prevention and control strategies is key to preventing botulism.
Conclusion
Preventative modalities for botulism are aimed at promoting the proper preparation, handling, and storage of foods. Foods need to be adequately heated to high temperatures to eliminate vegetative forms of botulinum toxins in food. Also, homemade foodstuffs should be refrigerated under the ideal temperatures as determined by the manufacturers. Furthermore, practicing infection prevention and control strategies is crucial in preventing wound botulism. Caregivers and parents need to desist from giving honey to children below one year of age.
References
World Health Organization (2018). Botulism. Web.