RT Book, Section A1 Geyer, Howard L. A2 Hoffman, Robert S. A2 Howland, Mary Ann A2 Lewin, Neal A. A2 Nelson, Lewis S. A2 Goldfrank, Lewis R. SR Print(0) ID 1108428527 T1 Botulism T2 Goldfrank's Toxicologic Emergencies, 10e YR 2015 FD 2015 PB McGraw-Hill Education PP New York, NY SN 9780071801843 LK accessemergencymedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1108428527 RD 2024/03/29 AB Botulism, a potentially fatal neuroparalytic illness, results from exposure to botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT), which is produced by the bacterium ­Clostridium botulinum and other Clostridium species. The earliest cases of botulism were described in Europe in 1735 and were attributed to improperly preserved German sausage; the name of the disease alludes to this association, botulus being Latin for sausage. Emile van Ermengem identified the causative organism in 1897 and named it Bacillus botulinum; it was later renamed Clostridium botulinum.22 These Gram-positive, spore-forming bacteria produce seven serotypes of BoNT, denoted A through G.