Article in Japanese

A 14-year-old girl with foodborne botulism with concurrent onset with her mother： A case report

Ayumi TADA^1）, Hiroshi OKADA^1）

Botulism is an acute paralytic illness which is caused by a neurotoxin produced by Clostridium botulinum, and is characterized by bilateral cranial nerve neuropathies, with symmetric descending weakness and respiratory failure. A 14-year-old girl visited our hospital because of vomiting and dizziness lasting for one day. She could not walk without support, and had dysarthria and dysphagia. After admission, respiratory distress worsened with symmetric descending paralysis, and within a few hours she developed respiratory failure and was intubated. Her mother had experienced similar symptoms, and also was intubated. Foodborne botulism was suspected, and antitoxin was administered. Clostridium neurotoxin A was isolated from her serum, and she received a diagnosis of botulism. In the treatment of children with acute onset neurological disorders, botulism should be suspected at an early stage by careful examination of the order of the appearance of symptoms and progression, as well as sick contacts.

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1）Department of Pediatrics, Matsudo City General Hospital Children’s Centre

Key words	foodborne botulism, food poisoning, botulinum antitoxin
Received	November 5, 2021
Accepted	June 9, 2022

34 (3)：197─204,2022