Botulism

Botulism is a rare but serious paralytic illness caused by a nerve toxin produced by Clostridium bacteria. Alaska consistently has among the highest rates of foodborne botulism in the United States, almost always related to the consumption of aged, or 'fermented', traditional foods. When preparing or eating traditional aged foods, follow the best practices as discussed in the video "A Helping Hand" under "Resources for the General Public".

In other parts of the country, botulism is typically associated with home-canned foods, especially low acid foods like vegetables. This happens in Alaska too. When canning at home, be sure to follow best practices as discussed in the "Resources for the General Public".

There are two other types of botulism, wound botulism and infant botulism. Neither is common in Alaska.

Resources for the General Public

• Foodborne Botulism Fact Sheet (updated October 2015)
• A Helping Hand - Keeping your family safe from botulism- Watch in English or Yupik (Opens on Vimeo website)
• UAF Co-op Extension - The Extension has a lot of resources for food preservation and how to do it safely
• CDC Home Canning and Botulism
• USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning

A Guide for Providers

Resources for Healthcare Providers

• New Botulism Treatment Resources for Healthcare Professionals (CDC)
• Botulism in Alaska Monograph (updated 2017)
• Epi Procedure Manual, Botulism (updated January 2019)
• BAT Packet (updated September 2020)
• Bulletins from the Section of Epidemiology

Forms

• CDC Botulism Case Report (updated April 2013)
• CDC Clinical Outcome Report (updated April 2013)
• SoE Botulism Investigation Form

Checklists

• For Health Care Providers (updated November 2018)
• For Public Health Nurses (updated November 2018)
• For Section of Epidemiology (updated April 2020)
• Symptom Monitoring Log (updated September 2017)

Educational Resources

• 
  'A Helping Hand' Video
  CDC Botulism Main Page
• Conditions Reportable to Public Health Manual