Seek treatment as necessary. Call the local health department if the suspect food was served at a large gathering, from a restaurant or other food service facility, or if it is a commercial product. Call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline if the suspect food is a USDA-inspected product and you have all the packaging. Contaminated water, raw milk, and raw or undercooked meat, poultry, or shellfish. Grows only in little or no oxygen.
Bacteria produce a toxin that causes illness.
Improperly canned foods, garlic in oil, vacuum-packed and tightly wrapped food. Toxin affects the nervous system. Fatal in 3 to 10 days if not treated. Clostridium perfringens Soil, dust, sewage, and intestinal tracts of animals and humans. Grows only in little or no oxygen.