Bacterial toxins are harmful substances produced by certain types of bacteria that can damage the host. There are two main categories of bacterial toxins - endotoxins, which are part of the bacterial cell wall, and exotoxins, which are secreted by bacteria. Clostridium botulinum produces the potent neurotoxin botulinum toxin, which causes botulism poisoning in humans and can be fatal. Symptoms vary depending on how the toxin enters the body, through food, wounds, or in infants. While very dangerous, purified botulinum toxin has beneficial medical uses when administered properly. Staphylococcus aureus also produces exotoxins that can cause food poisoning and other illnesses. Diagn

2. BACTERIAL TOXINS
PRESETED BY : HAFIZ NOOR
MUHAMMAD
ROLL #: 54
BATCH: 2020-2025

3.  Bacterial Toxins
 WHAT ARE TOXINS?
 TYPES OF TOXINS
 Clostridium botulinum
 Botulinum toxin
 Botulinum toxin types
 Foodborne botulism
 Wound botulism
 Infant botulism
 Beneficial effects of botulinum toxin
 Staphylococcus aureus

4. Bacterial toxins are harmful substances produced by certain types of
bacteria. They can cause a range of effects on the body, from mild
irritation to severe illness.
Bacterial toxins damage the host at the site of bacterial infection or distant
from the site. Bacterial toxins can be single proteins or oligomeric protein
complexes.

5. A toxin is a naturally occurring organic poison produced by metabolic
activities of living cells or organisms. They occur especially as proteins,
often conjugated. The term was first used by organic chemist Ludwig
Brieger (1849–1919).
Examples of toxins are benzene, lead, arsenic, mercury etc.
Cadmium, a metal that can cause kidney and bone problems, found in
batteries, plastics, and insecticides

6. Toxins can be divided into two main categories:
 Endotoxins
 Exotoxins
Endotoxins:
Endotoxins are part of the bacterial cell wall and are released when
the bacteria die.
Exotoxins:
Exotoxins are secreted by bacteria into their surroundings. They can
affect various systems in the body, such as the nervous, digestive,
and immune systems, leading to symptoms like fever, diarrhea,
paralysis, and even death in extreme cases.

7. It is a Gram-positive, rod-shaped. It is an obligate anaerobe, meaning
that oxygen is poisonous to the cells. However, C. botulinum tolerates
traces of oxygen due to the enzyme superoxide dismutase, which is an
important antioxidant defense in nearly all cells exposed to oxygen. C.
botulinum is only able to produce the neurotoxin during sporulation,
which can only happen in an anaerobic environment, spore-forming,
motile bacterium with the ability to produce the neurotoxin botulinum.
The botulinum toxin can cause a severe flaccid paralytic disease in
humans and other animals. And is the most potent toxin known to
humankind, natural or synthetic, with a lethal dose of 1.3–2.1 mg/kg in
humans.

8. Neurotoxin production is the unifying feature of the species. Seven types
of toxins have been identified that are allocated a letter (A-G). All toxins
are rapidly destroyed at 100 °C, but they are resistant to degradation by
enzymes found in the gastrointestinal tract. This allows for ingested toxin
to be absorbed from the intestines into the bloodstream.
Most strains produce one type of neurotoxin, but strains producing
multiple toxins have been described. C. botulinum producing B and F
toxin types have been isolated from human botulism cases in New
Mexico and California.

9. Only botulinum toxin types A, B, E, and F cause disease in humans. Types
A, B, and E are associated with foodborne illness, with type E specifically
associated with fish products. Type C produces limber neck in birds and
type D causes botulism in other mammals. No disease is associated with
type G.

10. "Signs and symptoms of foodborne botulism typically begin between 18 and 36 hours after the
toxin gets into your body, but can range from a few hours to several days, depending on the
amount of toxin ingested.
Double vision
Blurred vision
Drooping eyelid
Nausea, vomiting, and abdominal cramps
Slurred speech
Trouble breathing
Difficulty in swallowing
Dry mouth
Muscle weakness
Constipation
Reduced or absent deep tendon reactions, such as in the knee.

11. Most people who develop wound botulism inject drugs several times a
day, so it's difficult to determine how long it takes for signs and symptoms
to develop after the toxin enters the body. Most common in people who
inject black tar heroin, wound botulism signs and symptoms include.
Difficulty swallowing or speaking
Facial weakness on both sides of the face
Blurred or double vision
Drooping eyelids
Trouble breathing
Paralysis

12. Infant botulism is related to food, such as honey, problems generally begin
within 18 to 36 hours after the toxin enters the baby's body. Signs and
symptoms include:
Constipation (often the first sign)
Floppy movements due to muscle weakness and trouble controlling the head
Weak cry
Irritability
Drooping eyelids
Tiredness
Difficulty sucking or feeding
Paralysis

13. Purified botulinum toxin is diluted by a physician for treatment:
Spasmodic dysphasia (the inability of the muscles of the larynx
Strabismus (crossed eyes)
Paralysis of the facial muscles
Failure of the cervix
Blinking frequently
Vaccine:
There is a vaccines but its usefulness is unclear as it is associated with
significant adverse effect. From 2013 there are efforts ongoing to develop
a better vaccine.

14. Botulism is generally treated with botulism antitoxin and supportive care.
Supportive care for botulism includes monitoring of respiratory function.
Respiratory failure due to paralysis may require mechanical ventilation for
2 to 8 weeks, plus intensive medical and nursing care. After this time,
paralysis generally improves as new neuromuscular connections are
formed.
In some cases, physicians may try to remove contaminated food still in the
digestive tract by inducing vomiting and/or using enemas. Wounds should
be treated, usually surgically, to remove the source of the toxin-producing
bacteria.

15. S. aureus is a spherical bacterium (coccus) which on microscopic
examination appears in pairs, short chains, or bunched, grape-like clusters.
These organisms are Gram-positive. Some strains are capable of producing
a highly heat-stable protein toxin that causes illness in humans.
Toxins:
Depending on the strain, S. aureus is capable of secreting
several exotoxins. Many of these toxins are associated with specific
diseases. Staphylococcal toxins that act on cell membranes include alpha toxin, beta
toxin, delta toxin and several bio component toxins.

16. In the diagnosis of staphylococcal foodborne illness, proper interviews
with the victims and gathering and analyzing epidemiologic data are
essential. Incriminated foods should be collected and examined for
staphylococci. The presence of relatively large numbers of
enterotoxigenic staphylococci is good circumstantial evidence that the
food contains toxin. In cases where the food may have been treated to kill
the staphylococci, as in pasteurization or heating, direct microscopic
observation of the food may be an aid in the diagnosis. A number of
serological methods for determining the enterotoxigenicity of S.
aureus isolated from foods as well as methods for the separation and
detection of toxins in foods have been developed and used successfully
to aid in the diagnosis of the illness.

17. In the event of dehydration, vigorous administration of intravenous fluids
is indicated.
For patients exposed via inhalation, supportive treatment with humidified
oxygen may be all that is necessary, assisted ventilation with high oxygen
concentrations. For most patients, staphylococcal food poisoning will
cause a brief illness. The best treatments for these patients are rest, plenty
of fluids, and medicines to calm their stomachs. Highly susceptible
patients, such as the young and the elderly, are more likely to have severe
illness requiring intravenous therapy and care in a hospital. Antibiotics are
not useful in treating this illness. The toxin is not affected by antibiotics.