The disease process resulting from swallowing botulinum toxin is called

The disease process resulting from swallowing botulinum toxin is called

• A. Cholera
• B. Diphtheria
• C. Botulism
• D. Tetanus

Answer: (C)

When botulinum toxin is swallowed, the resulting illness is botulism. The toxin acts as a powerful neurotoxin that blocks acetylcholine release at the neuromuscular junction by cleaving SNARE proteins, leading to a descending, symmetric flaccid paralysis. Early symptoms often involve cranial nerves—blurred or double vision, droopy eyelids, difficulty swallowing—followed by progressive limb weakness and potential respiratory failure if not treated. This illness is typically linked to preformed toxin in improperly canned or preserved foods, though infants can develop disease from ingesting spores that later produce toxin in the gut. This picture is distinct from cholera, which causes profuse watery diarrhea from a diarrheagenic toxin; diphtheria, which produces a pseudomembrane-formed throat infection with systemic effects; and tetanus, which causes spastic, not flaccid, paralysis from toxin produced in wounds. So, swallowing botulinum toxin leads to botulism.

When botulinum toxin is swallowed, the resulting illness is botulism. The toxin acts as a powerful neurotoxin that blocks acetylcholine release at the neuromuscular junction by cleaving SNARE proteins, leading to a descending, symmetric flaccid paralysis. Early symptoms often involve cranial nerves—blurred or double vision, droopy eyelids, difficulty swallowing—followed by progressive limb weakness and potential respiratory failure if not treated. This illness is typically linked to preformed toxin in improperly canned or preserved foods, though infants can develop disease from ingesting spores that later produce toxin in the gut. This picture is distinct from cholera, which causes profuse watery diarrhea from a diarrheagenic toxin; diphtheria, which produces a pseudomembrane-formed throat infection with systemic effects; and tetanus, which causes spastic, not flaccid, paralysis from toxin produced in wounds. So, swallowing botulinum toxin leads to botulism.