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Health and Medicine - What Is The Deadliest Natural Toxin?
What is the deadliest natural toxin?
Botulinal toxin, produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, is the most dangerous toxin to humans. A dose of 109 milligrams per kilogram in the bloodstream is estimated to be high enough to kill a person.
Botulinal toxin, introduced to the body when a person eats spoiled food, caused botulism. Botulism is a serious disease of the nervous system. It affects the junctions of skeletal muscles and nerves, causing muscle weakness and paralysis. Botulism also may impair vision, speech, and swallowing.
About 25 percent of people who contract botulism die. Death occurs when the respiratory muscles become paralyzed—usually during the first week of the illness.
Clostridium botulinum can produce botulinal toxin only the the absence of oxygen. Therefore, canned goods and meat products wrapped in airtight casings are potential sources of...
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