| Summary: | We report an outbreak of botulism that occurred in July 2002 in a group of 12 Alaskan Yu’pik Eskimos who ate blubber and skin from a beached beluga whale. Botulism death rates among Alaska Natives have declined in the last 20 years, yet incidence has increased. The incidence of botulism in Alaska is among the highest in the world, and all cases of foodborne botulism in Alaska have been associated with eating traditional Alaska Native foods, including “fermented ” foods, dried foods, seal oil, and muktuk (skin and a thin pinkish blubber layer immediately underneath the skin) from marine mammals (1,2). Botulism toxins are divided into seven types; intoxication with toxin type E is exclusively associated with eating aquatic animals. Most cases of botulism in Alaska are caused by toxin type E.
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