BT Toxoid

Bt toxoid is shorthand for Botulinum toxoid (BT) vaccine. It has been used for over 25 years to protect industry and laboratory workers from occupational exposure. The BT toxoid vaccine immunizes against Clostridium botulinum bacteria toxin. Vaccines use the toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum bacteria to stimulate the body's production of antibodies or antitoxins against the threat of infection by the bacteria. Pharmaceutical companies have found ways to nullify the highly toxic poisons produced by the disease. The toxin protein is treated with either chemicals or heat to neutralize its poisonous property. These methods allow toxoids to be administered in large quantities to quickly [Page 175]stimulate immunization; however, adverse reactions have occurred in a number of those receiving it.

Botulinum neurotoxis (BT) is a protein produced by the soil bacteria Clostridium botulinum. The bacteria are rod-shaped and flourish best in anaerobic conditions. The spores of the bacteria survive in a dormant condition until they are exposed to conditions favorable to growth. There are seven different strains of the Clostridium botulinum bacteria; each strain produces a different toxin. The letters A through G identify the seven known kinds of BT. Four of these strains (A, B, E, and F) cause human botulism. The toxicity of BT is very high. An average adult can be killed by 70 one-millionths of a gram. Contracting botulism can cause serious paralysis because the Clostridium botulinum bacteria's toxin, botulin, is a nerve toxin.

There are three main type of botulism. All can be fatal and must be treated as a medical emergency. Eating food contaminated with Clostridium botulinum bacteria causes foodborne botulism. This form of botulism is very dangerous because it can affect a large number of people; however, only a quarter of cases each year are this form of botulism. Toxins produced in a wound infected with Clostridium botulinum bacteria cause wound botulism. This form of botulism is a danger for farm workers and combat soldiers, and produces a few cases each year. Infant botulism develops in an underdeveloped baby's intestines, where the toxins are released. Honey contaminated with Clostridium botulinum bacteria is the most common cause of infant botulism. Isolated cases of aerosol botulism have occurred among researchers. This condition is rare and also unnatural.

When a botulism infection occurs, the first symptoms occur within less than one to two days. In more severe cases, vision may be doubled or blurred, speech slurred, breathing will be shallow, and swallowing will be difficult with the mouth dry. The effects of the toxin move from the upper to the lower extremities in the body symmetrically. The toxin reduces muscles reflexes, paralyzes the limbs, and in deadly cases, destroys the nerves that fire the diaphragm and the muscles required for breathing. Clostridium botulinum has also attracted the attention of governments and terrorists for its potential as a biological weapon. Aum Shinrikyo, the Japanese terrorist group, tried to use a weaponized aerosol botulinun toxin on three separate occasions with little success. For some years until the First Gulf War in 1991, Iraq had a biological weapons program that included botulism.

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