Observations on the action of botulin toxin: with a note on grass disease in horses

Abstract

That Bacillus Botulinus is the cause of a type of food poisoning giving rise to a definite set of symptoms was first demonstrated by van Ermengem in 1895. In that year an outbreak of food poisoning occurred affecting twenty people who had partaken_ of a ham. The ham which was available for investigation was found not to be in a decomposed condition, though it had a somewhat rancid smell. Inoculations from this meat into animals produced typical symptoms in rabbits, guinea pigs, apes and pigeons. The symptoms included paralysis and eye symptoms such as ptasis and unequal pupils. Van Ermengem then proceeded on bacteriological lines and as a result of his work he isolated from the ham and from the spleen of one of his patients who died an organism which on culture produced a very virulent poison. The symptoms produced corresponded to those of the original disease. This organism van Ermengem named Bacillus botulinus. From that time the disease as been known as Botulism.

Though the cause of this type of food poisoning was thus established,the disease must have been known for a considerable time previous to 1895. The earliest published accounts seem to be those of Justinus Kerner , a Schwabian physician. In 1820 he issued an account of the disease occurring in Wiírtemberg. According to this author the earliest described cases occurred in the year 1793. From this date and until the discovery of Bacillus botulinus the disease was known as Sausage poisoning. Other records of a similar disease occurring prior to 1895 exist, but the literature is only of historical interest.

The more modern literature on botulism during the last fifteen or twenty years has come mainly from work carried out in the United States where a very large number of cases of botulism have occurred. During the last three or four years especially a number of very important contributions have been made to the literature of the subject.