Foodborne Botulism in Canada, 1985–2005

During 1985–2005, a total of 91 laboratory-confirmed outbreaks of foodborne botulism occurred in Canada; these outbreaks involved 205 cases and 11 deaths. Of the outbreaks, 75 (86.2%) were caused by Clostridium botulinum type E, followed by types A (7, 8.1%) and B (5, 5.7%). Approximately 85% of the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Emerging Infectious Diseases
Main Authors: Leclair, Daniel, Fung, Joe, Isaac-Renton, Judith L., Proulx, Jean-Francois, May-Hadford, Jennifer, Ellis, Andrea, Ashton, Edie, Bekal, Sadjia, Farber, Jeffrey M., Blanchfield, Burke, Austin, John W.
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2013
Subjects:
Research
British Columbia
Canada
Nunavik
Pacific
First Nations
inuit
Alaska
Online Access:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3713816
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23735780
https://doi.org/10.3201/eid1906.120873
Description
Summary:During 1985–2005, a total of 91 laboratory-confirmed outbreaks of foodborne botulism occurred in Canada; these outbreaks involved 205 cases and 11 deaths. Of the outbreaks, 75 (86.2%) were caused by Clostridium botulinum type E, followed by types A (7, 8.1%) and B (5, 5.7%). Approximately 85% of the outbreaks occurred in Alaska Native communities, particularly the Inuit of Nunavik in northern Quebec and the First Nations population of the Pacific coast of British Columbia. These populations were predominantly exposed to type E botulinum toxin through the consumption of traditionally prepared marine mammal and fish products. Two botulism outbreaks were attributed to commercial ready-to-eat meat products and 3 to foods served in restaurants; several cases were attributed to non-Native home-prepared foods. Three affected pregnant women delivered healthy infants. Improvements in botulism case identification and early treatment have resulted in a reduction in the case-fatality rate in Canada.

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