Clostridium botulinumin Cattle and Dairy Products

Abstract

The use of plastic-wrapped and nonacidified silage as cattle feed has led to an increasing number of botulism outbreaks due to Clostridium botulinum Groups I-III in dairy cattle. The involvement of Groups I and II organisms in cattle botulism has raised concern of human botulism risk associated with the consumption of dairy products. Multiplication of C. botulinum in silage and in the gastrointestinal tract of cattle with botulism has been reported, thus contamination of the farm environment and raw milk, and further transmission through the dairy chain, are possible. The standard milk pasteurization treatment does not eliminate spores, and the intrinsic factors of many dairy products allow botulinal growth and toxin production. Although rare, several large botulism outbreaks due to both commercial and home-prepared dairy products have been reported. Factors explaining these outbreaks include most importantly temperature abuse, but also unsafe formulation, inadequate fermentation, insufficient thermal processing, post-process contamination, and lack of adequate quality control for adjunct ingredients were involved. The small number of outbreaks is probably explained by a low incidence of spores in milk, the presence of competitive bacteria in pasteurized milk and other dairy products, and growth-inhibitory combinations of intrinsic and extrinsic factors in cultured and processed dairy products.

Management of Animal Botulism Outbreaks: From Clinical Suspicion to Practical Countermeasures to Prevent or Minimize Outbreaks

“…Also, pH and salinity in the sediments together with temperature play a crucial role for growth and toxin production, with an optimum growth temperature between 25°C and 42°C. 4,5,15 Type D strains can produce toxin in carrion at a temperature as low as 9°C, whereas a type C strain failed almost completely to do it at 16°C. 16 BoNT-producing clostridia secrete the toxins during their vegetative growth as inactive single-chain polypeptides that subsequently are activated by bacterial or tissue protease.…”

“…[31][32][33] Typically, type C and D toxins are associated with carrion of birds or small animals that have contaminated water, feed, or the environment, while noncarrion-associated botulism is caused by type A and B toxins. 4,[33][34][35] A second form of animal botulism is associated with the absorption of BoNTs produced in vivo in the intestinal tract. This form of botulism, seen in chickens and horses, can be categorized as a toxicoinfection.…”

“…3,4 On a worldwide basis, avian botulism probably represents the most important disease of migratory birds. More than a million deaths have been reported in relatively localized outbreaks in a single year, and outbreaks with losses of 50,000 birds or more are relatively common.…”

Acute Type C Botulism with Fatal Consequences in a Holstein Breeding Establishment in Northern Italy

“…Moreover, it is not surprising that neurotoxin was not detected in sera of diseased animals by mouse test since it has rarely been traced in the blood of affected bovines [23][24][25]. This hypothesis could be explained by a higher sensitivity to BoNT of cows in comparison to mice.…”

Descriptive study of botulism in an Austrian dairy herd: a case report

“…Furthermore, there are implications for human food safety in botulism cases as the presence of BoNT B could be demonstrated in bovine milk ). In addition, other modes of contamination in the dairy chain are possible and standard milk pasteurisation treatment does not eliminate spores from the milk originating from a dairy farm affected by botulism (Lindstrom et al, 2010).…”